Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Volume 16 The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 16: November 1789 to July 1790 9780691185224, 9780691045481

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THE PAPERS OF

THOMAS JEFFERSON

THE PAPERS OF

Thomas]efferson Volume 16 30 November 1789 to 4 July 179 0 JULIAN P. BOYD, EDITOR ALFRED L. BUSH, ASSISTANT EDITOR CONSULTING EDITOR LUCIUS WILMERDING, JR.

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

1961

Copyright © 1961, by Princeton University Press All Rights Reserved L.C.CARD

50-7486

Second printing, 1990 ISBN -13: 978-0-691-04548-1 (cloth)

Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF

ADOLPH S. OCHS PUBLISHER OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

1896-1935 WHO BY THE EXAMPLE OF A RESPONSIBLE PRESS ENLARGED AND FORTIFIED THE JEFFERSONIAN CONCEPT OF A FREE PRESS

ADVISORY COMMITTEE DAVID K. E. BRUCE, CHAIRMAN FRANCIS L. BERKELEY, JR. SOLON J. BUCK L. H. BUTTERFIELD GILBERT CHINARD HENRY STEELE COMMAGER HAROLD W. DODDS LUTHER H. EVANS ROBERT F. GOHEEN A. WHITNEY GRISWOLD ARCHIBALD MAC LEISH DUMAS MALONE BERNARD MAYO RICARDO A. MESTRES SAMUEL E. MORISON HOWARD W. SMITH DATUS C. SMITH, JR. IPHIGENE OCHS SULZBERGER WILLIAM J. VAN SCHREEVEN LA WRENCE C. WROTH JOHN C. WYLLIE

CONSULTANTS PROFESSOR ARCHIBALD T. MAC ALLISTER, Consultant in Italian PROFESSOR RAYMOND S. WILLIS, Consultant in Spanish FRANCE C. RICE, Consultant in French HOWARD C. RICE, JR., Consultant, Princeton University Library DOROTHY S. EATON, Consultant, The Library of Congress In common with other editorial ente:rprises, THE PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

is a continuing beneficiary of the good offices of The National Historical Publications Commission, through its Chairman, Wayne C. Grover, its Executive Director, Philip M. Harner, and its staff.

FOREWORD

A S he passed northward on the most laborious

journey he had ever experienced-an IS-inch snowfall caused him to abandon at Alexandria his own carriage and the splendid thoroughbred Tarquin that he had just purchased-Thomas Jefferson crossed the Christina River at Wilmington in the public stagecoach. As secretary of state having to do with the issuance of patents, he would soon observe in the whole range of mechanics and technology "a spring to invention beyond ... conception," but he could scarcely have known that some six hundred thousand tons of water had flowed from the Brandywine into the Christina in the twenty-four hours before he crossed, having dropped over two hundred feet in a score of miles between banks dotted with mills for the manufacture of paper, snuff, iron, flour, and leather that were moved by this falling energy. He had left France in the throes of revolution and was now crossing the spot where the family of his friend Pierre Samuel Dupont would come to found a rural and philosophical society. This energy and the events transpiring abroad would cause Jefferson to say in another quarter century that he had learned from experience that ''manufactures are as necessary to our independence as to our comfort." He did not yet know that he was facing four years of bitter "contest of principles of administration," but he felt the energy of the nation, was confident of its future, and knew that the power of the new government came less from its freshly-created fabric than from the spirit and manners of the people. His own policy was clear and fixed. If by administration is meant both the theory under which the sovereign powers are directed and the actual conduct of business by which theory is applied, then it is certain that the prevalent view of the history of administration during Washington's presidency must undergo revision. This is particularly true with respect to the office of secretary of state, embracing both domestic and foreign concerns. Jefferson arrived in New York, a city "steeped in Anglicism," with principles of administration and habits of business firmly imbedded in his nature. His view of the right of the executive to designate the number, the destinations, and the grade of diplomatic officers; his grasp of the cardinal elements of foreign policy; his advocacy of coinage as a mark and prerogative of sovereignty; his urging the adoption of a uniform and universal system of weights and measures among nations; his reluctant em-

n

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FOREWORD

brace of the idea of assumption in order to avoid a worse eventall testify to his support of an energetic national government and of the authority of the executive. What Jefferson brought to the administration in 1790 was a profound conviction of the nature of the American experiment and of the means he deemed best calculated to insure its success-a conviction expressed in elevated terms when he spoke to his Albemarle neighbors just a few weeks before taking office and identified the goal as ''the holy cause of freedom." He brought to the office, too, an extraordinary capacity for business. It is quite characteristic that one of the first things Jefferson did as secretary of state was to increase greatly the supplies of quills and stationery, to procure a magnificent folio volume for recording his official reports formally and permanently, and, most significant of all, to purchase a copying press for the department. "Much business had been put by for my arrival," he explained to friends, but matters that had been waiting for months were disposed of in days. In the time covered by the present volume Jefferson was incapacitated for a full fourth of it by an attack of his periodic headache. Yet in this period he organized the department, disposed of the accumulations, reported on coinage, took leave of friends in Europe in an extraordinary series of letters, made an alliance with John Fenno in order to obtain a less prejudiced reporting of European events, prepared the basis for the consular and diplomatic establishments, played a key role in the question of assumption, informed the American representatives in Madrid, Paris, and The Hague about American affairs in a manner that those individuals had not theretofore experienced, and climaxed this period with his classic report on weights and measures. In addition, in a private letter as obviously related to public policy as were his communications to Randolph and Small in 1775, Jefferson let it be known the moment he learned of the threatened outbreak of war in Europe that his intended foreign policy would be one of neutrality. The Duke of Leeds and the whole British foreign office understood very well, three years before the neutrality proclamation, that the secretary of state was prepared to stand on neutral ground, and when a British agent came down from Canada to extend feelers in the summer of 1790, he negotiated not with the secretary of state but with the heads of the war and treasury departments. Jefferson's private letter to Benjamin Vaughan is a [ viii J

FOREWORD diplomatic document of the first importance, more especially because it is so characteristic of his method. 1 His assumption of a new office produced a new variety and increased mass of records. In domestic affairs the secretary of state was required to deal with applications for patents, to issue commissions, to transmit acts of Congress to the governors of the various states, to attest and cause to be printed in the newspapers of not less than three states the statutes as adopted, to issue sea letters to ships, and so on-routine labors that constituted one of Jefferson's principal aversions to the office. He was also required to make reports as requested by Congress or to render opinions when called upon by the executive. While many of these were routine tasks, some were by no means unimportant. This was particularly so of the duty to publish the statutes in newspapers, and Jefferson approached this with full and characteristic understanding of the importance of the press. Within two weeks of his arrival in New York he had employed this authority by designating John Fenno's Gazette of the United States-a high-toned Federalist journal-as the paper in that state to publish the laws by authority, and it was no doubt through this means that he was enabled to persuade Fenno for a short while to carry extracts from the republicanGazette de Leide, extracts translated at first by Jefferson himself and later by clerks in the department. By late summer Jefferson had extended the privilege to newspapers in five states and declared his hope to do so for all. This routine duty of the secretary thus possessed considerable political potentialities, as developments in the 19th century would demonstrate. The new variety and number of documents thus brought into the purview of this edition pose some editorial problems. The numerous commissions, letters of transmittal of laws and their routine acknowledgments by governors, applications for office, testimonials for applicants, appeals for patent rights, and other routine records will necessarily have to be treated in summary form somewhat in the manner employed for similar materials when Jefferson was governor of Virginia. 2 These will be grouped for summary treatment at the close of Jefferson's tenure of office. Many more of the letters addressed to Jefferson will be summarized or 1 TJ to Vaughan, 27 June 1790; compare the letters to William Small, 7 May 1775, and to John Randolph, 25 Aug. 1775. 2 See vol. 6:640·6.

[ix]

FOREWORD

merely described in footnotes than has been the case heretofore, and some of Jefferson's own routine or unimportant letters will be given similar treatment. JULIAN P. BOYD

Editor

24 May 1961

[x]

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS 1. TEXTUAL DEVICES

The following devices are employed throughout the work to clarify the presentation of the text.

....

[ ... ], [ ] [ •.. ]\ [..•. ]1

[ ] [roman]

[italic] (italic)

[

]

One or two words missing and not conjecturable. More than two words missing and not conjecturable; subjoined footnote estimates number of words missing. Number or part of a number missing or illegible. Conjectural reading for missing or illegible matter. A question mark follows when the reading is doubtful. Editorial comment inserted in the text. Matter deleted in the MS but restored in our text. Record entry for letters not found. 2. DESCRIPTIVE SYMBOLS

The following symbols are employed throughout the work to describe the various kinds of manuscript originals. When a series of versions is recorded, the first to be recorded is the version used for the printed text. Dft Dupl MS N PoC PrC RC SC TripI

draft (usually a composition or rough draft; later drafts, when identifiable as such, are designated "2 Dft," &c.) duplicate manuscript (arbitrarily applied to most documents other than letters) note, notes (memoranda, fragments, &c.) polygraph copy press copy recipient's copy stylograph copy triplicate

All manuscripts of the abOiJe types are assumed to be in the hand of the author of the document to which the descriptive symbol pertains. If not, that fact is stated. On the other hand, the follow[xi]

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

ing types of manuscripts are assumed not to be in the hand of the author, and exceptions will be noted: FC Tr

file copy (applied to all forms of retained copies, such as letter-book copies, clerk's copies, &c.) transcript (applied to both contemporary and later copies; period of transcription, unless clear by implication, will be given when known) 3. LOCATION SYMBOLS

The locations of documents printed in this edition from originals in private hands, from originals held by institutions outside the United States, and from printed sources are recorded in self-explanatory form in the descriptive note following each document. The locations of documents printed from originals held by public institutions in the United States are recorded by means of the symbols used in the National Union Catalog in the Library of Congress; and explanation of how these symbols are formed is given above, Vol. 1: xl. The list of symbols appearing in each volume is limited to the institutions represented by documents printed or referred to in that and previous volumes. CLSU CLU

CSmH Ct CtY DeHi DLC DNA

University of Southern California Library, Los Angeles William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California at Los Angeles Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut Yale University Library Historical Society of Delaware, Wilmington, Delaware Library of Congress The National Archives, with identifications of series (preceded by record group number) as follows: CD Consular Dispatches DCI Diplomatic and Consular Instructions DD Diplomatic Dispatches FL Foreign Letters (xii J

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

MLR NL PCC

G-Ar ICHi IHi IMunS MB MBAt MH MHi MHi:AM

MdAA MdAN MeHi MiU-C

MoSHi MWA NBu NcD NcU NhD NHi NK-Iselin

NN

NNC

NNP

NNS NjP NjMoW

Miscellaneous Letters Received Notes from Legations Papers of the Continental Congress SDC State Department Correspondence Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta Chicago Historical Society, Chicago Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois Boston Public Library, Boston Boston Athenreum, Boston Harvard University Library Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Adams Manuscripts, presented by the Adams Manuscript Trust to the Massachusetts Historical Society Maryland Hall of Records, Annapolis U.S. Naval Academy Library Maine Historical Society, Portland William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis American Antiquarian Society, Worcester Buffalo Public Library, Buffalo, New York Duke University Library University of North Carolina Library Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hampshire New-York Historical Society, New York City Letters to and from John Jay bearing this symbol are used by permission of the Estate of Eleanor Jay Iselin. New York Public Library, New York City Columbia University Libraries Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City New York Society Library, New York City Princeton University Library Washington Headquarters Library, Morristown,N.J. [ xiii J

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS Lehigh University Library Haverford College Library Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia American Philosophical Society, PhiladelPPAP phia Library Company of Philadelphia, Ridgway PPL-R Branch University of Pennsylvania Library PU Washington and Jefferson College, WashPWW ington, Pennsylvania Rhode Island Department of State, ProviRPA dence Annmary Brown Memorial Library, ProviRPAB dence RPB Brown University Library Virginia State Library, Richmond Vi Vi:USCC Ended Cases, United States Circuit Court, Virginia State Library Virginia Historical Society, Richmond ViHi ViRVal Valentine Museum Library, Richmond University of Virginia Library ViU ViU:McG McGregor Library, University of Virginia ViU:TJMF Manuscripts deposited by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation in the Alderman Library, University of Virginia College of William and Mary Library ViW Colonial Williamsburg, Inc. ViWC Middlebury College Library, Middlebury, VtMC Vermont Secretary of State, Montpelier, Vermont VtMS State Historical Society of Wisconsin, MadiWHi son PBL PHC PHi

4. OTHER SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The following symbols and abbreviations are commonly employed in the annotation throughout the work. Second Series The topical series to be published at the end of this edition, comprising those materials which are best suited to a classified rather than a chronological arrangement (see Vol. 1: XV-XVI) [xiv]

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS T J Thomas Jefferson T J Editorial Files Photoduplicates and other editorial materials in the office of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Princeton University Library TJ Papers Jefferson Papers (applied to a collection of manuscripts when the precise location of a given document must be furnished, and always preceded by the symbol for the institutional repository; thus "DLC: TJ Papers, 4:628-9" represents a document in the Library of Congress, Jefferson Papers, volume 4, pages 628 and 629) RG Record Group (used in designating the location of documents in the National Archives) SJL Jefferson's "Summary Journal of letters" written and received (in DLC: TJ Papers) SJPL "Summary Journal of Public Letters," an incomplete list of letters written by TJ from 16 Apr. 1784 to 31 Dec. 1793, with brief summaries, in an amanuensis' hand (in DLC: TJ Papers, at end of SJL) V Ecu f Florin £ Pound sterling or livre, depending upon context (in doubtful cases, a clarifying note will be given) s Shilling or sou. (Also expressed as /) d Penny or denier it Livre Tournois ~ Per (occasionally used for pro, pre) 5. SHORT TITLES

The following list includes only those short titles of works cited with great frequency, and therefore in very abbreviated form, throughout this edition. Their expanded forms are given here only in the degree of fullness needed for unmistakable identification. Since it is impossible to anticipate all the works to be cited in such very abbreviated form, the list is appropriately revised from volume to volume. Adams, Works Charles Francis Adams, ed., The Works of John Adams, Boston, 1850-56,10 vols. AHR American Historical Review, 1895Annals Annals of the Congress of the United States: The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States Compiled from Authentic Materials by Joseph Gales, [xv

J

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

Senior, Washington, Gales & Seaton, 1834-56, 42 vols. The edition employed here is that which contains the running heads on verso and recto pages respectively: "Gales & Seatons History" and "of Debates in Congress." Another printing, with the same title-page but with running heads on both recto and verso pages reading "History of Congress," has a different pagination, so that pages cited in the edition employed here should be converted by subtracting approximately fifty-two from the number given in the citation. All editions are undependable. ASP American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Washington, Gales & Seaton, 1832-61, 38 vols. Atlas of Amer. Hist., Scribner, 1943 James Truslow Adams and R. V. Coleman, eds., Atlas of American History, N.Y., 1943 Barbary Wars Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Washington, 1939-1944, 5 vols. Edwin M. Betts, ed., Thomas Jefferson's Betts, Farm Book Farm Book, Princeton, 1953 Betts, Garden Book Edwin M. Betts, ed., Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book, Philadelphia, 1944 Biog. Dir. Congo Ansel Wold, ed., Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1927, Washington, 1928 B.M. Cat. British Museum, General Catalogue of Printed Books, London, 1931-; also The British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books, 1881-1900, Ann Arbor, 1946 B.N. Cat. Bibliotheque Nationale, Catalogue general des livres imprimes . .. .Auteurs, Paris, 1897-1955 Brant, Madison, I Irving Brant, James Madison: The Virginia Revolutionist, Indianapolis, 1941 Brant, Madison, II Irving Brant, James Madison: The Nationalist, 1780-1787, Indianapolis, 1948 Brant, Madison, III Irving Brant, James Madison: Father of the Constitution, 1787-1800, Indianapolis, 1950 Brant, Madison, IV Irving Brant, James Madison: Secretary of State, 1800-1809, Indianapolis, 1953 Brant, Madison, V Irving Brant, James Madison: The President, 1809-1812, Indianapolis, 1956 Burnett, Letters of Members Edwin C. Burnett, ed., Letters [xvi]

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

of Members of the Continental Congress, Washington, 19211936,8 vols. Cal. Franklin Papers I. Minis Hays, ed., Calendar of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin in the Library of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1908, 6 vols. cvsp William P. Palmer and others, eds., Calendar of Virginia State Papers . .. Preserved in the Capitol at Richmond, Richmond, 1875-1893 DAB Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, N.Y., 1928-1936 DAE Sir William A. Craigie and James Hulbert, eds., A Dictionary of American English, Chicago, 1938-1944 DAH James Truslow Adams, ed., Dictionary of American History, N.Y., 1940,5 vols., and index DNB Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee, eds., Dictionary of National Biography, 2d ed., N.Y., 1908-1909 Dumbauld, Tourist Edward Dumbauld, Thomas Jefferson American Tourist, Norman, Oklahoma, 1946 Elliot's Debates Jonathan Elliot, ed., The Debates of the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution . . . together with the Journal of the Federal Convention, 2d ed., Philadelphia, 1901,5 vols. Evans Charles Evans, comp., American Bibliography, Chicago, 1903-1955 Paul Leicester Ford, ed., The Writings of Thomas JefferFord son, Letterpress Edition, N.Y., 1892-1899, 10 vols. Freeman, Washington Douglas Southall Freeman, George Washington, N.Y., 1948-1957, 7 vols. Dumas Malone, ed., The Fry €:I Jefferson Fry-Jefferson Map Map of Virginia and Maryland: a Facsimile of the First Edition, Princeton, 1950 Greely, Public Documents Adolphus Washington Greely, ed., Public Documents of the First Fourteen Congresses, 17891817: Papers Relating to Early Congressional Documents, Washington, 1900 Hamilton, Works, ed., Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge, ed., The Works of Alexander Hamilton, New York, 1904, 12 vols. HAW Henry A. Washington, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, N.Y., 1853-1854, 9 vols. Hening William Waller Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, Richmond, 1809-1823, 13 vols. [xvii J

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

Henry, Henry William Wirt Henry, Patrick Henry, Life J Correspondence and Speeches, N.Y., 1891, 3 vols. JCC Worthington C. Ford and others, eds., Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Washington, 1904-1937, 34 vols. JEP Journal of the Executi'Ve Proceedings of the Senate of the United States . . . to the Termination of the Nineteenth Congress, Washington, 1828 JHD Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia (cited by session and date of publication) JHR Journal of the House of Representati'Ves of the United States, Washington, Gales & Seaton, 1826Jefferson Correspondence, Bixby Worthington C. Ford, ed., Thomas Jefferson Correspondence Printed from the Originals in the Collections of William K. Bixby, Boston, 1916 JS Journal of the Senate of the United States, Washington, Gales, 1820-21, 5 vols. Kimball, Jefferson, I Marie Kimball, Jefferson the Road to Glory 1743 to 1776, New York, 1943 Kimball, Jefferson, II Marie Kimball, Jefferson War and Peace 1776 to 1784, New York, 1947 Kimball, Jefferson, III Marie Kimball, Jefferson the Scene of Europe 1784 to 1789, New York, 1950 King, King C. R. King, ed., The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, Comprising His Letters, Pri'Vate and Official, His Public Documents, and His Speeches, 1755-1827, New York, 1894-1900, 6 vols. L & B Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert E. Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Washington, 1903-1904, 20 vols. L.C. Cat. A Catalogue of Books Represented by the Library of Congress Printed Cards, Ann Arbor, 1942-1946; also Supplement, 1948Library Catalogue, 1783 Jefferson's MS list of books owned or wanted in 1783 (original in Massachusetts Historical Society) Library Catalogue, 1815 Catalogue of the Library of the United States, Washington, 1815 Library Catalogue, 1829 Catalogue: President Jefferson's Library, Washington, 1829 [ xviii}

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Loubat, Medallic history J. F. Loubat, The Medallic History of the United States of America, 1776-1876, New York, 1878, 2 vols. Edgar S. Maclay, ed., Journal Maclay, Journal, ed., Maclay of William Maclay, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791, New York, 1890 Madison, Letters and Other Writings James Madison, Letters and Other Writings of James Madison, Philadelphia, 1865 Malone, Jefferson, I Dumas ,Malone, Jefferson the Virginian, Boston, 1948 Malone, Jefferson, II Dumas Malone, Jefferson and the Rights of Man, Boston, 1951 MVHR Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1914OED Sir James Murray and others, eds., A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, Oxford, 1888-1933 PMHB Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1877Randall, Life Henry S. Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, N.Y., 1858, 3 vols. Sarah N. Randolph, The Domestic Randolph, Domestic Life Life of Thomas Jefferson, Compiled from Family Letters and Reminiscences by His Great-Granddaughter, Cambridge, Mass., 1939 Sabin Joseph Sabin and others, comps., Bibliotheca Americana. A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, N.Y., 1868-1936 Sowerby E. Millicent Sowerby, comp., Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, 1952-1959, 5 vols. Swem, Index Earl G. Swem, comp., Virginia Historical Index, Roanoke, 1934-1936 Swem, "Va. Bibliog." Earl G. Swem, comp., "A Bibliography of Virginia History," Virginia State Library, Bulletin, VIII (1915 ), x (1917), and XII (1919) TJR Thomas Jefferson Randolph, ed., Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Charlottesville, 1829,4 vols. George Tucker, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, Tucker, Life Philadelphia, 1837, 2 vols. U.S. Statutes at Large The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Gov[ xix ]

GUIDE TO EDITORIAL APPARATUS

ernment in 1789, to March 3, 1845 .... Edited by Richard Peters (and others). Second edition. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1856-1873. 17 volumes. VMHB Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1893WMQ William and Mary Quarterly, 1892-

[xx ]

CONTENTS Account of a sailor calling himself Archibald Ross, 564 Account of the mutiny on the Bounty, 275 Adams, John, letter to, 283 (note) Addresses of welcome and responses thereto: Albemarle citizens, 177, 178; mayor and citizens of Alexandria, 224, 225; Virginia house of delegates, [11] (note), 11; Virginia senate, 11, 12 Albemarle citizens, address of welcome and response, "The Holy Cause of Freedom," 167-80; Editorial note, 167; the welcome, 177; the response, 178 Alden, Roger, memorandum of, 471 (note); letter to, 345 (note) American Academy of Arts and Sciences, certificate of Jefferson's election to membership, 112 (note) Anderson, James, letter from, 391, with enclosure Anderson, Nathaniel, letter from, [196] (note) Appointments, Jefferson's opinion on the powers of the Senate respecting diplomatic, 378 Arnoux and Chalut, the Abbes, letter to, 305 Arrearages in soldiers' pay, cabinet opinions concerning resolutions on, 455-70: Editorial note, 455; opinion of Hamilton, 462; opinion of Jefferson, 468 Autun, Bishop of, Jefferson's notes on propositions of, concerning a universal standard of weights and measures, 669 (note) Bancroft, Edward, letter to, [86] (note) Barclay, Thomas, letters from, 320 (note), 471 Barnes, Joseph, letters from, 590, 591 (note) Barrett, Nathaniel, letters to and from, 102, 102 (note) The Bee, or universal literary intelligencer, prospectus for, 391, (note) Bellanger, Madame Plumard de, letter to, 298 Bellini, Charles, letter to, 485 Bethune-Charost, letter from, 39 Biddle, Charles, letter to, from Sharp Delany, 563 (note) Bingham, William, letter from, 591 (note) Blackden, Samuel, letter from, 247 Blair, Archibald, letter to, 82 Bolling, John, letters to, 157, 207 Bond, Phineas, letter from, 83 Boonen Graves & William Crafts, letter from, 324 (note); letter to, 324 Botidour, Mlle., letter from, to Martha Jefferson, [135] (note) Boudinot, Elias, letter to, 581 Bourne, Sylvanus, letters from, 264, [265] (note); letter to, 265 (note) Bounty, account of the mutiny on the, 275 Boyd, Archibald, letter from, to Walter Boyd, [312] (note) Boyd, Walter, letter to, 311; letter to, from Archibald Boyd, [312] (note)

[xxi J

CONTENTS Brehan, Madame de, letter from, 424 Brown, James, letter from, 38; letter to, 80 Brown, John, affidavit of, 354 (note); letter to, 671 (note) Brown, William, letters to, 349, [350] (note), 486 (note) Bruce, Robert and Peter, letter to, 279 (note) Bryan, Anderson, letter from, 93; letter to, 83 Buchanan, George, letter from, 487 (note); letter to, 487 Burges, J. B., letter from and to Gouverneur Morris, 535 (note) Burke, Edmund, extract from the speech of, 260 Butler, Pierce, receipt by, 325 (note) Caractus, pedigree of [192] ( note) Carmichael, William, letters to, 329, 450; letter to, from John Jay, 330 (note) Carr, Martha Jefferson, letter to, 138 Carr, Peter, letters from, 205, 393; letters to, 276, 487 Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton, letter to, 486 (note) Carter, Charles, letter from, 21; letter to, 16 Cary, Wilson Miles, letter from, 549 (note); letter to, 548 Chalon, letter to, from the Farmers-General, 18 Chalut and Arnoux, the Abbes, letter to, 305 Church, Angelica Schuyler, letter to, 549 Clarke, Joseph, receipt to, U8 (note) Clay, the Rev. Charles, letter to, 129 Coffyn, Francis, letter to, 223 (note) Coinage, copper, documents concerning, 335-49: Editorial note, 335; resolution of house of representatives, 335, 345; John H. Mitchell to Thomas Tudor Tucker, 342; Thomas Jefferson to speaker of house, 345; report on copper coinage, 345; outline for Jefferson's report, 348 (note) Colvard, Benjamin, letter from, [309] (note) Commercial policy, documents on American, 513-30: :editorial note, 513; [Neil Jamieson] to Josia" Parker, 523; business modes of English and southern merchants, 528 Consular Convention of 1788, instrument of ratification of, 87 (note); proclamation of the, 327 Copying press, drawing of [324] (note) Corny, Madame de, letter to, 289 Cosway, Maria, letter from, 312; letter to, 550 Coxe, Tench, letters from, 531; letter from, to John Jay, 618 Craigie, Andrew, letter from, 264 (note) Cruse, Englehart, letter from, to George Washington, 413 (note) Cuthbert, William, letters from, 566 (note); letters to, 566 (note) Cutting, John Brown, letters from, 251, 262, [415] (note), [509] (note); letters to, from William Short, 258, 415 (note), 440 (note), 507 (note), 509 (note) Cutting, Nathaniel, letter from, 205; letter from, to Delamotte, 207 (note); letter from, to Martha Jefferson, 207 (note)

[xxii]

CONTENTS Davies, William John, affidavit concerning escaped slaves, 451 (note) Davis, Augustine, letter from, 52; letter to, 82 (note) Decius's letters on the opposition to the new constitution in Virginia, 141 (note) Delamotte, letter from, 17; letters to, 223 (note), 575; letter to, from William Short, 207 (note) Delany, Sharp, letter from, to Charles Biddle, 563 (note) De Lormerie, letters from, 433, 434 (note) De Pio, letter from, 230 Derieux, J. P. P., letters from, 42, 192 Diodati, letter to, 295 Diplomats, foreign, Jefferson's policy on presents to, documents concerning, 356-68: Editorial note, 356; Thomas Jefferson to William Temple Franklin, 363; William Temple Franklin to Thomas Jefferson, 364; memorandum of information from Adams and others, 366 (note); notes of presents given to American diplomats by foreign governments, 366; formula proposed by Jefferson, 367 Dohrman, Arnold Henry, letter to, [308] (note) Donald, Alexander, letters from, 28, 90, [223] (note), 236, [237] (note), 263, [325] (note), 382, 406, 565, 591; letters to, 222, 325,331,488 Dowse, Edward, letter from, 286 (note); letter to, 286 Dumas, C. W. F., official dispatches of, 193, 194 (note), 265, 411 (note), 415, 442; letter to, 551 Dunbar, John, letter to, 30 The Earth belongs to the living; See Madison on "The earth belongs to the living" Eliza, ship, sea letter to, 284 (note) Enville, Madame d', letter to, 290; list of American seeds desired by, 503 Eppes, Elizabeth Wayles, letter from, 209 (note); letter to, 208, 489 Eppes, Francis, letters from, [209] (note), 447; letters to, 35, 598 Estaing, Comte d', letter from, to George Washington, 555; letter to, from George Washington, 559 (note) Farmers-General, letter from, to Chalon, 18 Federal offices in North Carolina and the Southwest Territory, list of recommendations for, 476 Fenno's Gazette of the United States, documents concerning Jefferson's alliance with, 237-62: Editorial note, 237; Samuel Blackden to Thomas Jefferson, 247; John Brown Cutting to Thomas Jefferson, 251; William Short to John Brown Cutting, 258; extract from speech of Edmund Burke, 260 Fitzhugh, William, letter from, 223 (note); letter to, 223 Floridablanca, Conde de, letter of credence to, 330 (note) Forrest &: Stoddert, letter from, 428 Forrest, Uriah, letter from, 429 (note); letter to, 489

[ xxiii}

CONTENTS Franklin, Benjamin, letter from, 326, with enclosure; letter to, 283; Jefferson's account with, 490 (note) Franklin, William Temple, letters from, 36, 364; memorandum concerning etrennes by, 358; letters to, 180, 363 Franks, David S., letter from, 158 Garland, [John], letter to, 482 (note) Garth, 'Thomas, letter to, 209 Gautier, Jean Antoine, letter from, 363 (note) Gem, Richard, letter to, 297 Georgia land grants, Jefferson's opinion on certain, 406 Giles, William B., letter from, [22] (note), 23; letters to, 22 Gilmer, George, letter from, 433; letter to, 574 Grand, Ferdinand, letters to, 298, 368 Griffin, Cyrus, letters from, 14; letter to, 15 Hamilton, Alexander, letters from, 353, 369 (note), 472 (note), 479, 511; letters to, 483, 512 with enclosure, [512] (note); letter to, from Oliver Wolcott, 472 (note); letter to, from William Lindsay, 353 (note); opinion on the resolutions concerning arrearages in soldiers' pay, 462 Hancock, John, letter from and to, 563 (note) Harvie, John, Jr., letter from, 136; letter to, 97 Haskell, Edward, certificate to, 24 (note) Hay, William, letter from, [92] (note); letter to, 92; plat of survey by, 100 (note) Hazard, Ebenezer, letter from, 188 Henderson, McCaul &; Co., bonds from Jefferson to, 212 (note) Hopkinson, Francis, letters from, 422, 581; letter to, 490, with enclosures Houdetot, Madame d', letter to, 292 Howell, David, letters from, 451, with enclosures, 483; letter to, 553 Humphreys, David, letter from, 66 Hunter, William Jr., address to Jefferson as Mayor of Alexandria, 224; letter to, 491 Izard, Ralph, letter to, 376 (note); receipt by, 325 (note) [Jamieson, Neil], letter from, to Josiah Parker, 523 Jay, John, letter from, 20; letters to, 180, 283 (note); letter to, from Tench Coxe, 618; letter to, from George Walton, 451 (note); letter from, to William Carmichael, 330 (note); official dispatches to, from William Short, 3, 4 (note), 5 (note), 6 (note), 7 (note), 28 (note), 32, 40, 49, 86, 103, 119, 162, 165 (note), 199, 219, 234, 267, 279,301,333,371,400,419,425,430,436 Jefferson, Elizabeth, account with estate of, [192] (note) Jefferson, John, letter from, 87; letter to, 181 Jefferson, John Garland, letter to, 480

[xxiv]

CONTENTS Jefferson, Mary, letters from, 384, 435; letters to, 331,405,435,491, 599 Jefferson, Martha, letter to, from Mlle. Botidour, [135] (note); letter to, from Nathaniel Cutting, 207 (note); marriage settlement for, 189. See also Martha Jefferson Randolph Jefferson, Randolph, letter to, 194 Jefferson, Thomas, addresses of welcome to, by Virginia house of delegates and senate, with replies, 11, 12; certificate to Edward Haskell from, 24 (note); description by, of medals and memoranda on costs and makers, 67, 69, 77; description of Richmond lot by, [92] (note); entries, orders in council, and plats of lands of, in dispute with Harvie, 99 (note), 100 (note); certificate of election of, to American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 112 (note); address of welcome to, by Albemarle citizens, with reply, 177, 178; marriage indenture of, 189; marriage bond subscribed by, 191 (note); memorandum of silver left by, at Monticello, 196 (note); power of attorney to Nicholas Lewis by, 211 (note); address of welcome to, by mayor of Alexandria, with reply, ~24, 225; bonds given by, to Henderson, McCaul &: Co., 212 (note); diary by, of affairs of Philip Mazzei, 308; memorandum of, concerning Walter Boyd, 312; instructions of, to William Short concerning household furnishings, 321; receipt by Izard and Butler to, 325 (note). See a/so, United States: secretary of state Jones, John Coffin, letter from, 397; letter to, 554 Jones, Joseph, letter from, 182 (note); letter to, 182 Joy, Benjamin, sea letter to, 284 (note) Joy, George, letter to, 284 Kemp, John, letter from, 580 Kerr, Charles, account with, [212] (note) Lafayette, letters to, 292, 376; letter from, to George Washington, 531 (note); Opinion de M. De La Fayette, 440 (note) Lafayette, Madame de, letter to, 295 La Luzerne, letter to, 394 La Rochefoucauld d'Enville, letters to, 296, 377 Laurens, Henry, letter to, [283] (note) Leak, Walter, copy of plat of survey by, 100 (note) Lear, Tobias, letter from, 554, with enclosure Lee, Henry, letter from, [386] (note); letter to, 385 Leeds, Duke of, letters from and to Gouverneur Morris, 535 (note) Leroy &: Bayard, letter to, 296; order on, 550 (note) Leslie, Robert, letter from, 588, letter to, 576 Le Veillard, letter to, 306 Lewis, Charles Lilburne, letter from [192] (note); letters to, 191, 192 (note) Lewis, Mary Randolph, letter to, 93 Lewis, Mary Walker, letter from, 492 (note) [xxv]

CONTENTS Lewis, Nicholas, letters to, 99 (note), 210, 411, 482, 492, 599; power of attorney to, 211 (note) Lewis, Robert, letter from, 94; letter to, 195 Lindsay, William, letter from, to the secretary of the treasury, 353 (note) Louis XVI, letter to, from George Washington, 314 Lyle, James, letter from, p 09] (note), [212] (note); letters to, 109 (note), 156,212 McCaul, Alexander, letter from, 109 McHenry, James, letter from, 413 (note) Madison on "The Earth Belongs to the Living," 146-54: Editorial note, 146; text as received by Jefferson, 1790, 147; text as revised by Madison, late in life, 151 Madison, James, letters from, 125, 147, 151, 166, 183, 213, [287] (note); letters to, 92, 182, 286; opinion on method of delivering communications, 287; memorandum on Ladvocat, 495 (note); Queries concerning the report on weights and measures, 649 Madison, the Rev. James, letter to, 82 (note) Marriage settlement for Martha Jefferson, 189 Mason, George, letter from, 232, letter to, 493 Massachusetts, letter from governor of, 563 (note); letter to governor of, 563 (note), with enclosure Maury, the Rev. Matthew, letter to, 88 Mazzei, Philip, letter to, 307; Jefferson's diary of affairs of, 308 Medals struck in France, See Notes on American medals Melchior, Friedrich, Baron von Grimm, memorandum on etrennes, 359 Merchants, mode of business between Enltlish and southern, 528 MifHin, Thomas, letter from, 563 (note); letters to, 281, 562 Mitchell, John H., letter from, to Thomas Tudor Tucker, 342 Monroe, James, letters from, 110,432,478, 596; letters to, 483, 536 Monticello, list of silver left at, 196 (note) Montmorin, letters to, 313, 314 Morris, Gouverneur, letter from, 328; letters from and to Duke of Leeds, 535 (note); letter to, from J. B. Burges, 535 (note); letter from, to George Washington, 532, with enclosures Morris, Thomas, letter from, [97] (note) Moustier, letters from, 100,422 Mullins, Henry, letter from, [196] (note) Myers, Moses, letter to, from David Plunket, 354 (note) Nicholas, John, Jr., letter from, 139. See also, Decius's letters on the opposition to the new cqnstitution in Virginia, 141-5 Nicholas, John, Sr., letter from, [116] (note); letter to, 155 Nivison, John, letter from, to Josiah Parker, 354 (note) North Carolina and the Southwest Territory, recommendations for federal offices in, 476 Notes on American medals struck in France, docUments concerning,

[xxvi J

CONTENTS 53-78: Editorial note, 53; David Humphreys to Thomas Jefferson, 66; memoranda concerning distribution, cost, and makers of medals, 67; Jefferson's description of the medals, 69; related documents, 73-5 (note); Jefferson's notes on the history of the medals, 77 Notes of presents given to American diplomats by foreign governments, 366 O'Bryen, Richard, letter from, 20; letter from, to William Short, 334 (note) Offices, list of persons recommended for, in North Carolina and Southwest Territory, 476 Otis, Samuel A., letter from, 588 (note) Otto, Louis Guillaume, letter from, 354 Paine, Thomas, letter from, to George Washington, 531 (note) Paradise, John, letter from, 294; letter to, 84 Paradise, Lucy Ludwell, letters from, 137, 138 (note), 196, 198 (note), 294 (note), 446, with enclosures, letter to, 559 Parker, Josiah, letter to, from John Nivison, 354 (note); letter to, from [Neil Jamieson], 523 Pennsylvania, president of, letters to, 281, 562, with enclosures; letter from, 563 (note) Peters, Richard, letter from, 538; letter to, 494, with enclosure Petry, Jean Baptiste, letter from, 52 Piattoli, the Abbe, letter from, 214 Pinckney, Charles, letter from, 563 (note); letters to, 324, 562 Platt, Richard, letter from, 24 Pleasants, James B., letter from, 412 Plunket, David, letter from, to Moses Myers, 354 (note) Poggi, Anthony C., and John Trumbull, receipt by, 550 (note) Poplar Forest, plat survey of, 190 Presents to foreign diplomats. See Diplomats, foreign, Jefferson's policy on presents to Proclamation of the Consular Convention of 1788, 327 Ramsay, David, letter from, 332; letter tOj 577 Randall, P. R., letters from, 226, 226 (note) Randolph, David Meade, letter from, 509 Randolph, Edmund, letter from, 13 Randolph, Martha Jefferson, letter from, 384; letters to, 300, 386, 429, 474, [475] (note),577 Randolph, Thomas Mann, Jr., letters from, 370, 409, 441; letters to, 214,277,351,416,436,448,540 Randolph, Thomas Mann, Sr., letters from, 135, [155] (note); letter to, 154 Rayneval, letter to, 315 Remsen, Henry, letter to, 310

[xxvii ]

CONTENTS Rittenhouse, David, letters from, 545, 567, 594; letters to, 484, 509, 542,574,587, [667] (note), 668 (note) Ross, Archibald, account of a sailor calling himself, 564 Rush, Benjamin, letter from, 411 Russell, Thomas, letter to, 494, with enclosure Rutledge, Edward, letters from, 389, 544; letter to, 600 Rutledge, John, Jr., letters from, 266, 413, 426, [428] (note) Sarly, Jacob, letter from, 39 Seabrook, Nicholas B., letter from, [82] (note); letter to, 82 Seeds, list of, desired by Madame d'Enville, 503 Short, William, official dispatches from, 3, 4 (note), 5 (note), 6 (note), 7 (note), 32,40,49, 79, 86, 103, 119, 162, 165 (note), 199,219,234,267,279,301,333,371,400,419,425,430,436, 504, 570, 586; private letters from, 43, 105, 130, [135] (note), 159,202,271, [389] (note), 417, 473, 496, with enclosure, 582; letters to, 24, 228, 282, 315, 318, 377, 387, 395, 443, 475, 589, 590 (note); letters from, to John Brown Cutting, 258, 440 (note), 507 (note), 509 (note); commission as charge des affaires, 396 (note); instructions to, concerning household goods, 321 Sinclair, Sir John, letter from, 389 Skipwith, Fulwar, letters from, 90, 561 (note); letter to, 560 Skipwith, Henry, letters to, 16, 51 Smith, Meriwether, letter from, 155 Smith, William, letter from, 547; letter to, from Stephen Wilson, 548 (note) Soldiers' pay, Cabinet opinions on the resolutions concerning arrearages of,455 South Carolina, letter from governor of, 563 (note); letters to governor of, 324 (note), 563 (note), with enclosure Steele, John, letters from, 471 (note); letter to, 470 Tatham, William, letters from, 9, 185 Tesse, Madame de, letters to, 226, 378 Tolozan, letter to, [388J (note) Thompson, Benjamin, letters from, 282, 282 (note) Thompson, George, letter from, 510; letter to, 578 Trumbull, John, and Anthony C. Poggi, receipt by, 550 (note) Tucker, Thomas Tudor, letter to, from John H. Mitchell, 342 United States: House of representatives: resolutions of, concerning copper coinage, 335; letters to speaker of, 345, 623; report to, on copper coinage, 345; report to, on weights and measures, 650 Senate: letter to president of, 674 President: proclamation of Consular Convention by, 327 Secretary of state: commission of, 9 (note); arrangements with Fenno's Gazette of the United States, 237-62; sea letter issued by,

[xxviiiJ

CONTENTS to ship Eliza, 284 (note); draft of proclamation of Consular Convention by, 327; report of, on copper coinage, 335; policy of, concerning presents to foreign diplomats, 356; opinion of, on power of senate over diplomatic appointments, 378; opinion of, on certain Georgia land grants, 406; opinion of, on resolutions concerning arrearages of soldiers' pay, 468; recommendations by, of persons for federal offices in North Carolina and Southwest Territory, 476; estimate of annual expenses of department of state, 512; position of, on commercial policy, 513-30; note by, on Stephen Wilson's letter, 548; position of, on neutrality, 578-80, and note; report of, on weights and measures, 650 Vacher, John Francis, letter from, 309 Van der Kemp, Francis Adrian, letter to, 285 Vaughan, Benjamin, letter from, 274, with enclosed account of the mutiny on the Bounty, 275; letter to, 578 Vernes &: Cie., letter from, 97 (note) Vernes, Jacob, letters from, 94, [97] (note), 116, 188, with enclosure of prices current, Bordeaux; letter from, to the secretary of state, 97 (note) Viar, Jose Ignacio de, letter from, 473 (note); letter to, 472 Virginia house of delegates, address of welcome by, [11] (note), and reply, 11 Virginia senate, address of welcome by, 11, and reply, 12 Walker, John, letter from, [157] (note); letter to, 156 Walker, Thomas, letters from, 114, 479; letters to, 112, 127, 561, order for [212] (note) Walton, George, letter from, to John Jay, 451 (note) Waring, William, plan for a uniform system of weights and measures, 61.9 Washington, George, letters from, 8, 116, 531; letters to, 34, 184, 287, 310, 392, 410, 511; letter from, to Loui~ XVI, 314; letter to, from Englehart Cruse, 413 ( note); letter to, from D'Estaing, 555;' letter to, from Gouverneur Morris, 532; letter to, from Thomas Paille, 531 (note); proclamation of the Consular Convention of 1788, 327 Watson, David, letters from and to, 212 (note) Webb, George, .:fr., letter from, [94] (note) Weights and measures, documents concerning report on, 602-75: Editorial note, 602; Tench Coxe to John Jay, 618; William Waring's plan for weights and measures, 619; Thomas Jefferson to speaker of the house, 623; first state of report, 624; second state of report, 628; James Madison's queries concerning report, 649; final state of report, 650; Jefferson to president of senate, 674; postscript to report, 674; Jefferson's notes on Bishop of Autun's propositions, 669 (note) Willard, Joseph, letter from, Ill, enclosing certificate of election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences; letter to, 289

[xxix J

CONTENTS Willis, Francis, Jr., letter from, 165; letter to, 352 Wilson, Stephen, letter from, to William Smith, 548 (note) Wolcott, Oliver, letter from, to Alexander Hamilton, 472 (note) Wyley, Alexander, letter from, [388] (note) Wythe, George, letter from, 368, with enclosure from James Ferguson's Tables and tracts; letters to, 37, 495 Yazoo. See Georgia land grants, Jefferson's opinion on, 406 Zariny, Joseph, letter from, 13

[xxx]

ILLUSTRATIONS Following page 52 THE SECRETARY OF STATE BEGINS TO REPORT

This handsome specimen of calligraphy is the title-page of a folio volume of Jefferson's reports beginning with that on copper coinage (see p. 335-49). The exceedingly fine, highly-calendered, gilt-edged paper, the careful calligraphy, and the acquisition of the volume immediately after he had assumed office (as proved by the inclusion of the report on coinage) -all reflect Jefferson's concern for the permanence of the record. (Courtesy of the National Archives) JEFFERSON INSTRUCTS POLLY IN THE USE OF A COPYING PRESS

Superimposed on Jefferson's letter to Brailsford &: Morris, 7 May 1789, is the impression of the final page of a letter from Polly Jefferson (here spelling her name as Maria) to her friend Kitty Church. The verso of the page not only bears the first part of the text of Polly's letter-an error in this experiment at copying that reversed and further obscured the image-but is also complicated by the offset impression of the succeeding letter, that of the same date to William Drayton. The margins of Polly's letter are also partially lost. Jefferson probably encouraged her to write in French-she needed prompting as a correspondent in any form-just as he encouraged Kitty Church to do so in a letter to her mother (TJ to Angelica Schuyler Church, 21 Sep. 1788). This much of the obscured letter is recoverable: "Votre lettre machere Kitty m a fait Ie (plaisir) grand plaisir. II n y a pas longtemps que J en ai receu un mot de Par ... ] et [ ... ] vous [savez bien?] [... ] son coeur. Comme j avais deja quiter Ie couvent avant de larrivee de votre lettre je n ai pas pu faire vos commissions a ces dames et demoiselles. Sally vous dit bien des choses. Adieu macher amie. Croyez moi pour la vie tout a vous. Maria Jefferson" (Polly employed no more punctuation in French than in English and this deficiency has been supplied in part). The Sally referred to in the letter was Sally Hemings, the servant who had accompanied Polly on the voyage from America in 1787 (Abigail Adams to T J, 26 June 1787). The Editors are indebted to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Eaton of the Library of Congress for aid in recovering this engaging text. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) JEFFERSON GIVES SHORT SECRET INSTRUCTIONS

This example of the minuscule handwriting of which Jefferson was capable (reproduced in exact size) and which he employed with shorthand abbreviations on many occasions is from a letter to- William Short, 24 Jan. 1791, concerning the problem facing him as a diplomatic officer appointed under the confederation and obliged to observe the constitutional injunction against accepting, without the consent of Congress, "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from

[ :xxxi ]

ILL USTRATIONS any King, Prince, or foreign State" (Art. I, sect. 9). The passage reproduced here from the letter to Short is the text en clair of Jefferson's instructions in cypher about the manner of disposing of the king's present. On Jefferson's sensible and characteristic solution of the problem, see p. 362-3. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) JEFFERSON'S SEAL

This is perhaps the earliest intact example of Jefferson's personal seal bearing the famous motto "REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD" (see Vol. 1: 677). It is attached to the cover of his letter to Dr. Richard Gem of 4 Apr. 1790; the seal was also used on TJ's letter to Le Veillard, .5 Apr. 1790. The seal was first reproduced, with careful attention to exactness, in a wood engraving in Benson J. Lossing's The pictorial field book of the Re-volution (2d edn., New York, 1852, II; 548). That reproduction was made after a perfect wax impression discovered in Jefferson's papers after his death. (Courtesy of the Henry E. Huntington Library) COLUMBIA COLLEGE IN

1790

Cornelius Tiebout must have been at work engraving Anderson's drawing of Columbia College shortly before Jefferson sought the advice of William Samuel Johnson, president, and John Kemp, professor of mathematics, when he was engaged in the final stages of his report on a uniform system of weights and measures. Tiebout's print was published in the May 1790 issue of the New·York Magazine; or Literary Repository. Jefferson was unable to find at the college (or elsewhere in New York) the books needed in the preparation of his report and he consulted mathematicians only after he had formed the substance of his plan of weights and measures (see Kemp to TJ, 28 June 1790, and reference to Johnson in unfinished letter quoted p. 607). The building of the college, erected between 1756 and 1760, was then located to the west of Broadway on Church street, a few squares from Federal Hall. See report on weights and measures, p. 602-75. (Courtesy of the New-York Historical Society) VIEW OF FEDERAL HALL AND WALL STREET, BY ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON

It was Professor John Kemp of Columbia College, one of those consulted by Jefferson when he was preparing the report on weights and measures, who invited Archibald Robertson 0765-1835), a successful painter of Aberdeen, Scotland, to come to America. Robertson arrived in New York the same year that Jefferson took up his duties as secretary of state. As painter, amateur architect, linguist, and friend of Kemp, he must have met Jefferson and found in him a kindred spirit. Robertson also brought with him from the Earl of Buchan as a gift for Washington "a box made of the venerable oak which sheltered . . . Wallace after his defeat at Falkirk," and Washington ift turn commissioned

[ xxxii ]

ILL USTRATIONS "Mr. Robinson" to do a miniature of himself for Buchan (Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, XXXII, 25). In addition to portraits, Robertson executed a number of water-color views of New York. This view, probably painted while Jefferson was yet in New York, looks up Wall street past Federal Hall to Trinity Church, a location that was the center of federal government activity in 1790. Bordering the Church yard and obscured by Federal Hall in this view stood City Tavern, the inn occupying the full block between Thames and Cedar streets on Broadway, where Jefferson lodged from the time of his arrival in New York on 21 Mch. 1790 until the first of June, when he moved a few blocks away into the house at 57 Maiden Lane. Another view by Cornelius Tiebout, taken from an almost identical vantage point, shows more clearly the wing added by L'Enfant during the remodelling of the building in 1788-1789 in order to provide accommodations for the government (John A. Kouwenhoven, The Columbia historical portrait of New York, New York 1953, p. 83; Dumbauld, Tourist, p. 154-5). (Courtesy of the New-York Historical Society) BLACK MARBLE CLOCK ORDERED BY JEFFERSON,

1790

When Jefferson gave William Short a long list of instructions about household furnishings (see p. 321), he was engaged in preparing his report on weights and measures, a fact which must have suggested to him the desirability of adding to the design of the clock then ordered "a pendulum vibrating half seconds exactly." The design was not original with Jefferson, but was drawn from memory: a clock of similar design had been stolen "from the chimney" of his study in Paris. There was another interesting variation that he made in the design, however, for the stolen clock had conical columns and Jefferson altered these to obelisks. The striking similarity of the obelisks of the clock and those of the "Bowling-Green Washington" by Tiebout (see below) suggests that the latter may have provided the stimulus for this alteration. Short gave "the model of the clock" to the "Directeur de la salle des ventes ... with a verbal and written explanation" of what was desired. Difficulties of price and performance ensued and Short was unable to dispatch the clock with the other household goods that were shipped in the autumn of 1790. He thereupon engaged another workman, whose name "CHANTROT A PARIS" appears on the dial, and the clock was completed in the summer of 1791 (Short to TJ, 14 June, 16 July, and 4 Aug. 1790; 30 Mch., 26 Apr., 2 May, and 17 July 1791; TJ to Short, 24 Jan. 1791; Chantrot to TJ, 24 July 1791). The owner of the clock, who is a descendant of Jefferson, informs the Editors that it still operates with remarkable accuracy. (Courtesy of the owner.) THE "BOWLING-GREEN WASHINGTON"

The design of this portrait of Washington drawn by Dr. Charles Buxton, engraved by Cornelius Tiebout, and published by Charles Smith

[xxxiii]

ILLUSTRATIONS in New York in 1783 suggests a probable influence on Jefferson's design of the clock made by Chantrot (see note above). But the view in the background, showing the fort, Bowling Green (its fence encircling the pedestal from which the statue of George III had been pulled on 9 July 1776), and the Kennedy house where Washington lived at the beginning of the Revolution, also has its association with Jefferson. It was here that Jefferson, on his way to keep an appointment with Washington in June 1790, met Alexander Hamilton in a pregnant moment of history. He recalled the episode in 1818 in these words: "Hamilton was in despair. As I was going to the President's one day, I met him in the street. He walked me backwards and forwards before the President's door [which faced Bowling Green] for half an hour. He painted pathetically the temper into which the legislature had been wrought, the disgust of those who were called the Creditor states, the danger of the secession of their members, and the separation of the states" (Anas; DLC: TJ Papers, 212: 37844, dated 4 Feb. 1818). Out of this meeting came perhaps the most famous and most short-lived coalition in American history (see Documents in the residence question, under 14 July 1790). (Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York) BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S "TESTIMONY ••• ON THE ••• DISPUTED RIVER OF ST. CROIX"

This "sheet which contains the Bay of Passamaquoddy" from the fourth edition of John Mitchell's Map of the British Colonies in North America, published in 1776, was sent by Franklin only a few days before his death and was in response to Jefferson's inquiry (see TJ to Franklin, 31 Mch. 1790; Franklin to TJ, 8 Apr. 1790). Benjamin Franklin Bache was the amanuensis for the letter of transmittal and shortly afterward gave the following account of the heroic manner in which Benjamin Franklin met this final call to public duty: "Ten Days before his Death, when the Disorder was near its Height, he called me to his Bedside, and dictated to me an Answer to a Letter, he had received a few Days before, from T. Jefferson.-Tho' at the time he was in the greatest Agonies-in more Pain than I ever saw him-Tho' it was with great Difficulty that he could breathe-Yet he dictated a Letter of a Folio Page and an half, upon Business that required every Exertion of his Memory and Judgment, without once requiring me to read back what I had written, or obliging me to correct more than one small Error, and yet he has been but a little in the Habit of dictating.-The Letter was as good a one as he ever wrote, notwithstanding the several Difficulties he laboured under at the Time.-From that day he grew worse and worse, and took but little Food" (Bache to Margaret Hartman Markoe, 2 May 1790; RC in PPAP; the Editors are indebted to Whitfield J. Bell, Jr. for calling this letter to their attention). The letter that Franklin signed with a slight tremor but with the characteristically bold signature is indubitable proof that the dying statesman's devotion to affairs of the public was true to the end. Jefferson, perhaps purposely, had refrained from naming the map that he supposed the commissioners [xxxiv J

ILLUSTRATIONS had used, but Franklin's memory was also dependable. The sheet that Franklin sent was not the one actually used in the negotiations. See Hunter Miller, Treaties and other international acts, III, 340-1. (Courtesy of the National Archi-ves.) WASHINGTON'S SET OF AMERICAN MEDALS EXECUTED IN FRANCE

Of the American medals completed or begun in France before Jefferson's departure in 1789, only nine were his ultimate responsibility and it is these that are here illustrated individually (for the history of these medals, see p. 73-8). Shortly after the president returned from services at St. Paul's on Sunday, 21 Mch. 1790, he received the new secretary of state, who had just arrived in the city. Then or shortly thereafter Jefferson handed to Washington the gold medal honoring him and authorized by Congress in 1776. At the same time, presumably, he delivered to the president the gold and silver medals destined for other Revolutionary officers (TJ to Washington, I Apr. 1790, note). He also presented a duplicate set in silver, as ordered by Congress. This set was encased in a mahogany box made by Upton, a Parisian cabinet-maker, and no doubt similar to the boxes made for the sets of tin proofs that Jefferson had caused to be struck for himself and for Madison (see p. 77-8). It included all save one of the medals made in France under Jeffers'.H's supervision, plus three others-the Libertas Americana, the 1786 Franklin medal, and that struck in honor of De Fleury. This group of eleven medals was offered for sale to the United States in 1827, but no action was taken when a resolution in the house of representatives proposed to authorize the purchase. More than two decades later Daniel Webster recalled that the proposition at first seemed to be favored and added: "The price was not considered any great object: but a constitutional question arose whether Congress could, without a violation of their duty and obligations, buy that little casket, a relic which came from General Washington's cabinet. It was debated there two or three days, when finally, by a vote of those who were opposed to the constitutional power, it was laid upon the table. I had kept my eye upon it, and when the debate ceased in the House of Representatives I sent and purchased the casket" (Daily National lntelligencer, 25 Jan. 1850; JHR, 19th. Cong., 2d. sess., 23, 24, and 27 Feb. 1827, p. 326, 348-9, 351; on 27 Feb. Everett reported a resolution authorizing the clerk to purchase the medals at a cost not over $500.). This directly contradicts portions of the story repeated by a "confidential and devoted friend" of Webster, Peter Harvey, when he presented the medals to the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1874. The medals had presumably been in Harvey's possession since Webster's death in 1852 (Procs., Mass. Hist. Soc., 1875, p. 287-92). They are still encased in the burled mahogany casket lined with salmon-covered velvet, measuring 9~ by 9% inches, that Jefferson brought back on the Clermont in 1789 and they therefore narrowly escaped destruction in the fire that broke out on that vessel when she docked at Norfolk (see Vol. 15: 560, note; communication from Wendell Garrett to the [xxxv]

ILLUSTRATIONS Editors, 16 Mch. 1961; courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society). The frequent production of facsimiles and re-strikes of these medals, which has given rise to the erroneous belief that original examples of them are common, may have begun almost immediately after the series was completed. Thomas Wyatt, in his Description of the national medals, of America, presented to the officers of the wars of the Revolution and 1812, published to accompany an 1854 issue of bronze facsimiles of the medals, related a story without giving his authority for it to the effect that one Hyams of London "in the year 1790 ... cut at his own expense dies of several of the Revolutionary Medals: it is believed that five were executed by him, which accounts for the copper medals of Washington, Howard, Wm. Washington, &c. &c., being occasionally offered for sale in London, but when compared with the originals are soon detected" (Wyatt, Description, New York, 1854, p. [S]; The story was repeated, as having occurred about 1791, by C. H. Hart, in A historical sketch of the national medals issued pursuant to the resolution of Congress, 1776-1815, Philadelphia, 1867, p.[lS9]). Since the latter half of the 19th century, authorized copies of many of these medals have been struck at the United States Mint, where facsimiles of all of the Revolutionary medals are available. Except for the detailed purposes of the numismatist, one need not go further for an exact description of the medals than Jefferson's own explication (Document III, Notes on American medals made in France, p. 69). In the following notes to the individual medals, in which the obverse is shown on the left and the reverse on the right, the dates given are those of the events commemorated. Unless otherwise indicated, all reproductions are from the silver copies in the Washington group and are reproduced through courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society. I. George Washington. Evacuation of Boston, 17 March 1776. The gold original which Jefferson handed to Washington in 1790 descended to a collateral branch of the family, from whom it was purchased in 1876 by fifty citizens for presentation to the City of Boston and placed in the collections of the Boston Public Library. In his study of the medallic portraits of the first president, William S. Baker described this medal by Pierre Simon Ben.iamin Duvivier (usually designated as Benjamin Duvivier) as being historically and aesthetically the most important of Washington medals. The Boston Public Library also possesses white metal proofs of both sides of this medal. The original dies are in the Musee Monetaire, Paris. The portrait on the obverse is sculptured from the bust by Houdon which Jefferson also commissioned (Vol. 15: xxxvii). The high quality of Duvivier's work on this medal won it a place in the Salon of 1789 (William S. Baker, Medallic portraits of Washington, Philadelphia, 1885, p. 27-S0; George L. Washington to Daniel Webster, 28 Jan. 1850; affidavit of Louisa Washington, 25 Mch. 1876; deed of ownership, 11 Mch. 1876-all in MB; Loubat, Medallic history, I, xlvi, xlix). For Jefferson's description, see p.69.

[xxxvi]

ILLUSTRATIONS II. Horatio Gates. Saratoga, 17 Oct. 1777. The gold example, transmitted to Gates by Washington (p. 77-8), was presented to the New-York Historical Society in 1889 by a descendant of Albert Gallation. For Jefferson's description, see p. 70. III. Anthony Wayne. Stony Point, 15 July 1779. In both this and the Stewart medal, Nicolas Marie Gatteaux appropriated as a symbol for the United States the conventional icon used in the 18th century to represent the most recently discovered of the four continents (H. Gravelot, Almanach iconologique, Annee 1770, Sixieme Suite, plate No.8; James H. Hyde, "L'Iconographie des quatre parties du monde dans les tapisseries," reprint from Gazette des beaux-arts, Nov. 1924; "The Four Parts of the World as represented in Old-time Pageants and Ballets," reprint from Apollo: a journal of the arts, London, 1927). America is represented as an Indian maiden in a head dress and girdle of feathers, with a bow and full quiver and an alligator as attribute, in accordance with well established convention. But the addition of the striped shield suggests a limitation of the geographical extent of the maiden's dominion, transforming what had been a symbol for both Americas into a specific emblem of the United States (see notes on Morgan and Diplomatic medals). For description, see p. 70. IV. John Stewart. Stony Point, 15 July 1779. See note above on the Wayne medal. For Jefferson's description, see p. 71. v. William Augustine Washington. Cowpens, 17 Jan. 1781. The Washington medal was also included for exhibition in the Salon of 1789. The original dies are in the Musee Monetaire, Paris (Loubat, Medallic history, I, xliv, xlvi). For Jefferson's description, see p. 71. VI. John Eager Howard. Cowpens, 17 Jan. 1781. The Howard medal was also included for exhibition in the Salon of 1789. The original dies are in the Musee Monetaire, Paris (Loubat, Medallic history, I, xlvi, xlix). For Jefferson's description, see p. 72. VII. Nathanael Greene. Eutaw Springs, 8 Sep. 1781. By Augustin Dupre. For Jefferson's description, see p. 72. VIII-XVII. Daniel Morgan. Cowpens, 17 Jan. 1781. More material has survived to document the progress of the design for the Morgan medal than for any of the other medals executed in France under Jefferson's supervision. The variety of this material has given rise to questions concerning the relationship of some of these sketches to the final medal and even to speculations that at least one aspect of this variation might be supposed to offer commentary on Jefferson's taste (Carl Zigrosser, "The Medallic Sketches of Augustin Dupre in American Collections," Procs., Am. Phil. Soc., 101 [1957], p. 536; Andre Girodie, "Un dessin d'Augustin Dupre pour Ie medaille du general americain Daniel Morgan," Bulletin des Musees de France, 7e annee, No.2 [Feb. 1935], p. 24-5). While it is known that Jefferson followed the progress of the medals closely and in one instance asked the Academie des Inscriptions to correct the inscriptions that had been given in 1785 to the Morgan medal (see p. 65), no documentary evidence exists to show any direct influence by him on the design of

[xxxvii}

ILLUSTRATIONS the medals. The episode illustrates well the characteristic habits of business and dispatch with which he discharged this public responsibility, and it is certain that, attentive as he always was to matters touching the fine arts, he had an alert interest in the artists' conceptions. But the question of influence must rest upon inference, and the hypothesis advanced by Girodie (see below) that one change in the design of the Morgan medal reflected Jefferson's personal taste in a puritanical manner is demonstrably untenable. What appears to be the earliest of Dupre's sketches for the obverse of the Morgan medal is in the collections of the American Philosophical Society (VIII). It depicts America in the conventional icon of the Indian maiden, standing at Morgan's left and holding a laurel crown above the general's head with her right hand. The enemy trophies forming the background include cannon, unfurled standards, a cuirass, and a helmet. But in the finely executed, more finished drawing for the obverse that is in the Musee de Blerancourt (XII), the positions of America and Morgan are reversed, so that the Indian maiden honors the general with her left hand, not her right as had been prescribed by the Academie des Inscriptions. It is to be noted, too, that the figure of the soldier has undergone a striking change: the most obvious and remarkable evidence of this is the plumed hat-a hat which also appears in the sketch of the figure of Morgan that is in the collections of the American Philosophical Society (x). But there are other changes scarcely less striking. The officer's hair is dishevelled, his clothes are baggy and ill-fitting, his boots are sagging and ill-kempt. These characteristics are all present in the drawings by Dupre in the Musee de Blerancourt and in the American Philosophical SoCiety (x and XII) and they offer a striking contrast to the trim military figure in VIII. That figure might have been any European officer, but he certainly could never have passed for the slouchy, profane, rough frontier fighter who won at Cowpens. Two inferences are to be drawn from these facts. The first is that the sketch of Morgan in the American Philosophical Society (x) is unmistakably one of the sequence of sketches made by Dupre for the Morgan medal and is clearly preliminary to the finished Blerancourt drawing (XII). The medal as executed (XVI) shows that, though the positions of the Indian maiden and the general are the same as in the Blerancourt drawing, she is crowning him with a wreath of laurel held in her right hand rather than in her left as in the drawing. This led Girodie to conjecture that the handsome form of the maiden in the earlier sketches was rejected by Jefferson as being offensive to the "principes respectables ... [duJ Congres americain." But this overlooks the fact that the design approved by the Academie des Inscriptions required the figure representing America to crown Morgan with a wreath held in her right hand. It overlooks the even more emphatic contradiction of Girodie's supposition in Jefferson's suggestion made to Dupre through Short in 1790 for the obverse of the Diplomatic medal [ xxxviii)

ILLUSTRATIONS which called for the use of a "Columbia (a fine female figure )"-a suggestion with which Dupre complied (see notes below). The second inference is that the rumpled hair, the slouchy clothes, and especially the plumed hat of the intermediate sketches represent an effort to achieve a realistic portrait of the distinctive, unmilitary hero of Cowpens. The plumed hat especially suggests this: but it also raises a puzzling question, for a plumed hat of that character belongs to an earlier century and it is doubtful if any like it had been seen in America since the days of the Cavaliers. What this in turn suggests is that Morgan may have worn a feather in his hat to designate his status as an officer, that this was called to Dupre's attention, and that the plumed hat was thus placed in the Blerancourt drawing. But, since no one who knew him could possibly mistake Daniel Morgan for a Cavalier, it is quite understandable that this plumed article should have disappeared from the medal as executed, giving way to a sword, and that the military costume of the soldier should have been made somewhat more correct. But it is to be observed that the tousled hair remained-and that the facial features were greatly strengthened. It seems clear from these circumstances that someone had been urging Dupre to achieve verisimilitude in the likeness and that in the evolution of the design the exaggerated or inappropriate results had been rejected while the essential characteristics of the head were retained and even accented. If this conjecture is correct, it is plausible to assume further that it was Jefferson who provided the stimulus for these developments in the design. There are several reasons to support this. The first is that no one had more immediate responsibility for supervising the execution of the medals than the American minister. He was in constant touch with Dupre early in 1789, and he was very far from being- unaware of the critical reception that might be accorded an inappropriate medallic portrait of so individual and recognizable a figure as Morgan. The experience with Houdon had taught him that "statues are made every day from portraits but if the person be living, they are always condemned by those who know him for a want of resemblance." It had taught him also that "no statue could be executed so as to obtain the approbation of those to whom the figure of the original is known, but on an actual view by the artist" (TJ to Harrison, 12 Jan. 1785). Disliking criticism as much as he did and being unable to bring Dupre and the frontier fighter together, Jefferson must have described Morgan's distinctive characteristics as best he could. He was the one person in Paris who certainly had a personal knowledge of Morgan, and, in addition to his public responsibility in the matter, he also possessed high admiration for the fighting quality of the "men beyond the mountains." If, as is almost certainly the case, Dupre showed him what seems to be the earliest sketch (VIII), Jefferson could scarcely have refrained from pointing out an obvious fact. The soldier being crowned might well have been Banastre Tarleton, the enemy commander at Cowpens, but he assuredly could not have been Daniel Morgan.

[xxxix}

ILLUSTRATIONS In view of this it seems plausible to conclude that Jefferson had a direct influence on the design of the Morgan medal. If equally full materials existed for tracing the development of the design of the other medals, it is very likely that these would reveal similar evidences of influence. For on matters of public duty committed to his hands, Jefferson was invariably attentive, patient, and meticulous in his effort to discharge the responsibility. The design of the reverse of the Morgan medal was realized with changes that only refined the first proposal recorded in the sketch (IX) in the American Philosophical Society. The enlarged wax sketch (XI), the raised die of the reverse (xv) -both at the Boston Public Librarythe drawing in the Musee de BIerancourt (XIII), and a working proof in soft metal (Fig. 15 in Zigrosser) in the American Philosophical Society differ only in slight details. For Jefferson's description, see p. 72. (Courtesy of the Mwsachusetts Historical Society, the American Philosophical Society, the Boston Public Library, and the Musee de B lerancourt ) XVIII-XXI. John Paul Jones. Engagement of Bon Homme Richard and Serapis, 23 Sep. 1779. The "copy of the medal" which Jefferson purchased at Jones's suggestion from Jean Martin Renaud early in 1789 was perhaps a temporary duplication of a unique medallion or a preliminary study for a medal which was never struck (Jean Babelon to the Editors, 19 Jan. 1961). Apparently the only depiction of this medallion which has survived is the engraved frontispiece to Andre's biography of Jones (XXI). Jones anticipated that the reverse of this medal could be of use to the artist composing that authorized in his honor by Congress, but he urged that it was "by no means to be Copyed." A comparison of the reverse of the Renaud view of the battle with Dupre's representation of the engagement indicates that Dupre took the latter suggestion seriously (Jones to TJ, 9 Sep. 1788; TJ to Jones, 23 Mch. 1789; Andre, Memoires de Paul Jones, Paris, 1798). Jones'most recent biographer, Samuel Eliot Morison, regards the reverse of the Dupre medal (XIX) as the most accurate visual depiction of the battle, but points out that Renaud's rendition of the scene is nevertheless more accurate in one respect: it correctly shows the Serapis at anchor (Morison, John Paul Jones, Boston, 1959, p. 353). Dupre's drawing of the profile of the Houdon bust which the medallist used for the likeness of Jones on the obverse of the medal survives in the Musee de BIerancourt (xx). The medal is reproduced here (XVIII and XIX) from the bronze example in the Boston Public Library. The original dies are possessed by the Musee Monetaire, Paris (Loubat, Medallic history, I, xlix). For Jefferson's description, see p. 71. In telling Jones of the progress of his medal, Jefferson appraised the artistic competence of the three medallists engaged to execute the American medals in words that are still valid: Dupre, he wrote, was ''the best among them" (TJ to Jones, 23 Mch. 1789). He made the same sort of unerring choice of excellence when he selected Houdon

[xl]

ILLUSTRATIONS for the Washington statue and described him as "being unrivalled in Europe" (TJ to Harrison, 12 Jan. 1785). (Courtesy of the Princeton University Library, the Musee de Blerancourt, and the Boston Public Library; the Editors are particularly in;. debted to Howard C. Rice, Jr. for his assistance in connection with the Morgan and the Diplomatic medals) THE DIPLOMATIC MEDAL OF

1790, XXII-XXIX.

While Jefferson prepared both verbal and visual descriptions of the design for the reverse of the Diplomatic medal, he left the design for the obverse to the discretion of the medallist. But his suggestion of a "Columbia (a fine female figure) delivering the emblems of peace and commerce to a Mercury, with the legend 'Peace and Commerce' circumscribed, and the date of our Republic, to wit, IV Jul. MDCCLXXVI. subscribed as an Exerguum" was so carefully followed by Augustin Dupre that it can serve as a description of the obverse of the executed medal (TJ to Short, 30 Apr. 1790). Examples of the medal struck from the original dies, despite an extensive search by Loubat in the 19th century and by the Editors (particularly assisted in this by Howard C. Rice, Jr.) have not been found. The whereabouts of the gold examples struck for La Luzerne and De Moustier are unknown to present members of their families (the medal owned by the Marquis de Vibray and reproduced in Contenson, La Societe des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amerique, Paris, 1934, Plate IX, numbers 6 and 7, is one of the copies struck from the 1876 die by Charles Barber). Besides these two gold copiesthe only presentations of the medal ever made to foreign diplomats by the United States-eight bronze copies were originally struck. But the subsequent location of only one of these-that owned by Charles I. Bushnell in 1878-has ever been recorded. This example was sold in June of 1882 at the Bushnell Sale, where it was described as a unique specimen. Fortunately it was included among the medals illustrated in the heliotype plates that accompany a special printing of the catalogue of the sale (S. H. and H. Chapman, Catalogue of the celebrated and valuable collection of American coins belonging to -the late Charles Ira Bushnell, Philadelphia, 1882). This 1882 heliotype reproduction of the Bushnell copy is reproduced here in the absence of an original example of the medal (XXVIII and XXIX). The raised die (or "hub" that is the matrix used in producing the final die) of the obverse (XXII), the damaged die of the obverse (XXIV), the die of the reverse (XXV), and the intaglio medallion in plaster (XXVI) are all in the Boston Public Library. The soft medal proof of the reverse (XXVII) is in the American Philosophical Society. Although the damaged die for the obverse shows none of the "repairing" promised by Short in his letter to Jefferson of 25 Sep. 1791, this may be the die which "failed, as often happens, in the hardening." Jefferson had noted that the medal which Holland presented to Adams on his departure from his ministry there bore "the arms of the Union

[xli J

ILLUSTRATIONS on one side, and the particular arms of each province on the other" (see note to Document III, p. 366). Both precedent and propriety suggested that the arms of the United States, authorized on 15 Sep. 1789 as attributes of the seal of the United States and placed under custody of the secretary of state, could appropriately appear on the reverse of the Diplomatic medal. The act of 1789 made specific provisions for the use of the seal and stated that it "shall not be affixed to any commission, before the same shall have been signed by the President of the United States, nor to any other instrument or act, without the special warrant of the President therefor" (U.S. Statutes at Large, I, 68-9). While the use of the arms of the United States as the iconographic device of the Diplomatic medal did not, strictly speaking, come under this injunction by which the passing of commissions, acts, and other instruments under the seal was governed, it is nevertheless a fact that Jefferson sought and obtained Washington's approval for making use of the arms in this manner (TJ to Washington, 29 Apr. 1790, note). Jefferson's letter to Short of 30 Apr. 1790 contained not only a careful description of the reverse of the medal but also "several impressions in wax, to render that more intelligible." These impressions were undoubtedly identical to that reproduced here, which has been reproduced from the die of 1782 (XXIII; it should be noted that, as secretary of state, Jefferson not only had custody of the seal of the United States but also of the "seal of office," which differed from the former only in the addition of the legend "Secretary of State" [as indicated, e.g., in the attestations of the printed Acts of Congress of 28 Aug. 1790 and 25 Feb. 1791 (DLC: Short Papers; VtMS) -both in TJ Editorial Files]). Dupre's pencil sketch and large wax sketch of an eagle in the collections of the American Philosophical Society have been related to the Diplomatic medal by Zigrosser (p. 549). But the eagle grasping lightning and fire was a widely-used iconographic device associated exclusively with Benjamin Franklin. A number of engravings, including that published by Bligny on 14 July 1780, document the fact that these two sketches belong to designs executed by Dupre for the Franklin medals. (Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Archives) ENGLEHART CRUSE APPLIES FOR A PATENT FOR HIS "PERPETUAL CYLINDER"

James B. Pleasants claimed to have made the improvement involved in Cruse's application for a patent, but gave this unlettered mechanician permission to apply in his own name (Pleasants to T J, 5 May 1790). Cruse applied to Washington in an undated letter to which this drawing is attached. The plan for the improved steam engine for applying power directly shows the basic elements of the engine on the left hand page, keyed by letters to their corresponding parts on the right hand

[ xlii J

ILL USTRATIONS page. If any further explanation of the plan was attached to the drawing or accompanied Cruse's application to Washington (see p. 413 for a summary of the application), it evidently has not survived. (Courtesy of the National Archives) THE CHARLES RIVER BRIDGE,

1786

The first major bridge across the Charles was completed in June 1786 after thirteen months of work and was considered to be an accomplishment imposing enough to be marked by a special meeting of the General Court of Massachusetts and by a procession of distinguished public and private persons, by inaugural ceremonies and cannon salutes, and by the initial crossing of the bridge to Charlestown where some 800 people were seated at an improvised table and spent the day in what was described as "sober festivity." The bridge was distinguished for its length (over 1500 feet) and for the machinery of the drawbridge, which required only two men to operate. This remarkable evidence of progress-occurring, it should be noted, in the year of Shays' Rebellion-became even more impressive to Jefferson in June 1790 when Lemuel Cox, the builder, described to the new secretary of state his method of preserving timbers. Jefferson was so captivated by the overflowing "spring of invention" manifested in the activity of Cox and other applicants for patents that he at once transmitted the information to Benjamin Vaughan so that it could be passed on to the Royal Society. Cox's idea of impregnating the timber of his bridges with oil, Jefferson explained to Vaughan on 27 June 1790, was prompted by the observation that "whaling vessels would be eaten to a honeycomb except a little above and below water where the whale is brought into contact with the vessel and lies beating against it until it is cut up." For the Charles River bridge Cox had used "the liver oil of the codfish." At the time of Cox's visit to Jefferson, the bridge builder may have only recently returned to the United States. For the Massachusetts Magazine had reported the previous September that "Mr. Cox, the master builder, is now employed in a foreign kingdom, to construct a bridge upon nearly similar principles; and employed by those, who a few years since, held Americans upon a par with savages" (Massachusetts Magazine, I [Sep. 1789], 533-4). Thus early did the technological influence of such Americans as Cox, Rumsey, Paine, and others move eastward, and among them all, of course, the name of Franklin stood first. The view here reproduced is an engraving by Samuel Hill, taken from Atkin's Wharf. It appeared in the Massachusetts Magazine, I (Sep. 1789), 533.

[ xliii

J

THE PAPERS OF

THOMAS JEFFERSON William Short to John Jay Paris Nov. 30. 1789 I had the honor of receiving yesterday your letter of Octob. the 13th. by Count de Moustier who arrived here five or six days ago. The letter for the King, the duplicate of the consular convention, and papers accompanying this letter were delivered me at the same time. I shall put the letter for the King into the hands of the Minister to-morrow. The consular convention which had been also received with your letter of Septem. the 17th. as mentioned in my last was immediately communicated, and that to be exchanged for it is now preparing. The present situation of the Bureaux will occasion a delay of some days yet, as the Minister informed me yesterday. I shall lose no time in forwarding it after its reception. The opposition to the decrees of the national assembly which had begun to shew itself in some of the Parliaments and the States of Cambray has ceased and served only to shew the inutility of resistance. The assembly at the request of the King have withdrawn the prosecutions they had ordered against the refractory members of these bodies. Thus the political revolution may be considered as effected so far as it relates to the transfer of all power into the hands of the representatives of the people, but the affair of their finances will probably give them much trouble for some time to come. The Minister in whom the nation has for some time been accustomed to have an unlimited confidence describes their situation as so desperate, and proposes his remedy with so little hopes of success that all parties seem to be alarmed. Plans of finance are therefore proposed by many quite ignorant of the subject, and the assembly without confidence in that proposed by the Minister because he has so little confidence in it himself, are induced to listen to whoever has a plan to propose. Their attention is thus diverted from the main object and distracted by the variety presented to their view. The loss of time which this occasions and the uncertainty which it creates in the minds of all respecting future operaDEAR SIR

[3J

30 NOVEMBER 1789

tions, produce already bad effects on public confidence and may perhaps occasion the stoppage of payment which they are so solicitous to avoid. Still the resources of this country are so immense as well from their annual revenue, as the great objects of ecclesiastical property and royal domains that the evil can only be temporary. I learned by the papers you sent me as well as by Count de Moustier that you were at the head of the judiciary department. I have always thought that in order to reconcile the citizens of the United States to a change in their modes of trial to which men in all countries adhere with obstinacy, it would be necessary only to have at the head of this department a person of great talents and possessing the confidence of all. I have no doubt Sir that that object will be now answered and I most sincerely congratulate my country on the event. I have the honor to be with sentiments of the most perfect respect & attachment, Sir, Your most obedient & most humble Servt. W SHORT. Tr (DNA: RG 59, DD); at head of text: "No. 11. W Short to the Secty of State." On assuming office as secretary of state, TJ reviewed all of Short's dispatches to Jay, thus becoming in effect their recipient. Hence for this period of transition in which the office itself was at a standstill and when for a time Short himself did not know whether TJ or Jay was the encumbent, the following summaries may be given of Short's dispatches Nos. 1-10 that were written after TJ's departure from Paris and before the above was sent: No.1, 30 Sep. 1789: infonning Jay of TJ's departure and of his own reception as charge des affaires (for text at large, see note to Short tb TJ, 8 Oct. 1789) •

No.2, 9 Oct. 1789: giving a more extended and formal account of the "events of a very extraordinary and unexpected nature" than that in Short's letter to TJ of the day before, and adding: "When the Members who had seperated for dinner returned to the Assembly in the evening, they found the room occupied by immense crowds of women who filled the galleries and most of the seats of the members, some singing, some dancing, others crying out du pain, and many of them with swords hanging to their sides. In this confusion it was impossible to proceed regularly to business; still the members

continued assembled. A part of the df'putation they had sent to the King returned bringing with them his acceptation pure and simple of the articles of the constitution and Bill of rights which had been sent to him some days before, and to which by his answer received in the morning, he had only acceded conditionally.-In this situation the Marquis de la Fayette approached Versailles, about 11 o'clock at night. Although on leaving Paris he was the prisoner of his troops and the mob which followed them, before his arrival he had obtained such a command over them that notwithstanding the impetuosity of the multitude he was able to halt them and make them swear Allegiance to the National Assembly and to the King before entering the town. This was the more necessary because [it was suspected a party] attached [to the Duke of Orleans] had [been tampering with his Tro]op[s and the mob, and also because his de]signs in [his present singular situation] might [have been] liable [to suspicion, both to the King] and [the Assembly]. M. de la Fayette leaving his troops thus halted went alone to the King, who after assuring him of the entire confidence which he placed in his loyalty and honor, agreed to be guarded in future by the national troops under his command. The posts around the Chateau which they had formerly occupied were immediately delivered to them, and from that moment their con-

[4 }

30 NOVEMBER 1789 duct was most exemplary. The remainder of the night was employed in keeping order amongst the thousands of people who continued flocking there from Paris. At six o'clock in the morning (of Tuesday) M. de la Fayette worn down by the fatigues of the preceding day and night, retired to repose himself. During his absence the mob became ungovernable. They fired on and killed the gardes du corps wherever they could find them. Some of them in their flight were pursued into the Queen's Antichamber. She was awakened by the cries of death and fled into the chamber of the King, who had been also roused by the noise of immense crouds surrounding and running up and down the Chateau. M. de la Fayette, whose conduct on this occasion has acquired him from all parties the appellation of the guardian angel of the day, was immediately called up. The first objects which presented themselves to his view were the heads of two of the gardes du corps which the people were carrying on pikes through the streets in triumph. Numbers of others about to become victims to the rage of the moment were rescued by him from slaughter. It is not yet ascertained how many fell. The large court in front of the Chateau was now filled with the furious multitude. The King shewed himself to them from the terrace of his chamber. They insisted with loud cries that he should go to remain at Paris. He consented and added that he would carry the Queen and his family. It was not known how this would be received by them. Fortunately it was answered with shouts of joy. This became the signal of universal reconciliation.-The national Assembly being immediately informed of this decision of the King resolved that they considered themselves as inseparable from his Majesty for the present Session and sent to inform him of their resolution to follow him to Paris." Short then described the journey to Paris and the orderly reception there: "From this moment a calm reigned through all the streets which seemed to have been the effect of Magic, and the next morning to the astonishment of every body bread became as abundant as ever and has continued so since. This confirms the opinion that the scarcity was not real. There are many suspicions on this subject among all parties. A number of people however are arrested on suspicion of having mischievous de-

signs in stirring up the populace. . •• One thing however which is certain is that if the late scarcity of bread should return, the effects of popular rage would be more than ever to be dreaded, as [the king] and particularly the [queen will] in that case be absolutely [in the hands] of [a mob] who in times of [famine] will be too [strong] for the [guards] .••• The King has written to day a letter to the Assembly at Versailles in which he informs them that the proofs of affection and fidelity which he has received from the inhabitants of Paris have induced him to fix his residence here. . • • They will continue their deliberations at Versailles untill a place shall be prepared for them here. The objects which occupy them at present are the remaining articles of the constitution and a provisory change in their criminal procedure." Short enclosed the decree prepared by Necker on finances and also the National Assembly's address to their constituents, drawn by Mirabeau; he added that he had been assured the premium on wheat and flour had been extended to December, but had not been officially informed of it and did not think it worth while to see the minister on the subject in the existing state of affairs (Tr in DNA: RG 59, DD; partly in code, the matter in brackets [supplied] being the interlinear decoding). No.3, 11 Oct. 1789: transmitting gazettes of France and of Leyden and a journal of proceedings of the National Assembly, the last containing "an allusion to a conspiracy being discovered in Paris"; Short added that he had "this moment learned that Mr. Jefferson sailed from Havre for Cowes on the night of the 8th instant" (Tr in same). No. 4,20 Oct. 1789: stating that the National Assembly had the day before opened their session in Paris with between seven and eight hundred members, "an agreeable circumstance" in view of the fears entertained; that the Duke of Orleans had been stopped at Boulogne and his passport queried there; that it was "generally supposed that the commission in England [on behalf of the king] was merely a pretext for removing him from Paris," since the suspicions of the event mentioned in dispatch No.2 increased daily; that details could not be added because this dispatch was to go by post and the use of cipher might cause it to be stopped altogether, as had happened on occasion;

[5]

30 NOVEMBER 1789 that it was not possible to go out of Paris without a passport, even to dine in the country; that he feared "circumstances like this will disgust many of those who were friends to a revolution from which they expected real liberty"; that the municipal organization of Paris formed "in several respects . • • sixty different republics," resulting in many inconveniences theretofore submitted to with resiguation as unavoidable; that the progress of the war in September had been "most fatal to the Turk"; that letters of 2S and 26 Sep. from Richard O'Bryen, one of the prisoners at Algiers, informed of his being taken from under protection of the English consul and transferred to the house of the Spanish consul; and that these letters said the Algerines had started the increase of their marine "with unexampled industry," a fact which would augment their need of masts and timber and therefore might provide "a proper time for the United States to commence a negociation by means of these articles, which would be at present more acceptable than money." Short added that six of the American prisoners were dead, so that only fifteen remained, and that the Spanish consul was in advance for their support "from April 87 to August 89 8SS ¥.! Sequins" (Tr in same). No.5, 25 Oct. 1789: stating that the Duke of Orleans had been permitted to proceed and 'was then in England, and giving the following explanation for the plan "to remove him from the scene of action . . . partly by threats and partly by giving him a pretext" for going to England: "As this matter was in agitation for some days, it is thought that those of his party had taken measures to have him stopped at Boulogne, hoping that if he was brought back to Paris they might recommence their operations under a new form. If no proofs existed against the Duke the party would have seized that occasion of denouncing the [Marquis] who had forced him to leave Paris, being a member of the national Assembly. If proofs existed the party was glad to have a Prince of the blood with them to share or to soften their fate. Count Mirabeau who is known to have been the soul of the party has acknowledged to the [Marquis] that this was their plan, and he added that finding the party as well as the Duke unfit for any thing, he had resolved to abandon them, and now would devote himself to him. He has

taken this means of coming into the ministry. As his uncommon talents give him great weight in the Assembly and as it is thought that he is the only person who can restore force to the executive, it is probable he will soon be a minister. Although his moral reputation is the worst that can be, one of the engines which he moves at present for this purpose is to render the place of the present ministry as disagreeable as possible. He proposed the motion of which you will see an extract in the memorial of the ministry which I have the honor of enclosing. The Assembly have not as yet proceeded on this memorial." Short gave an account of the execution of two of the leaders of the mob that had seized and put to death a baker on 21 Oct. on suspicion of concealing bread, and enclosed also a copy of the martial law adopted by the Assembly (Tr in same; the words in italics are in code and have been decoded by the Editors, employing a partially reconstructed key to Code No. 11; Short employed the symbol 1612 twice to indicate Lafayette, who was the person whom he indubitably had in mind [see Short to TJ, S Nov. 1789], though no appropriate corresponding designation can be found on the syllabic key to Code No. 11). No.6, 28 Oct. 1789: stating that the "most remarkable circumstance . . . in the National Assembly within these three days is an arrete by which they have determined that the Assemblies of the Provinces at present, and particularly that called in Dauphine, were irregular and consequently request the King to take such measures as he may judge proper for preventing them"; that these Assemblies had been called on account of the extraordinary events which carried the king and National Assembly to Paris; that that of Dauphine "was more feared than the others, because a member of the national assembly of the most leading talents and influence ••• Monsr. Mounier ••• one of the principal contributors to the beginning of this revolution," had become disgusted on the king's removal to Paris; that, being opposed to a legislature of a single chamber, he had retired to Dauphine, became the "principal cause of the assembling of that Province," and, with the support of the clergy, nobility, and discontented, might lead them in the direction of counterrevolution; that the other deputies of

[6J

30 NOVEMBER 1789 Dauphine had written a letter to their province saying that their "assembling at this time is irregular, unnecessary, and may be dangerous"; that the next day was fixed for "deciding the fate of ecclesiastical property . • • estimated at two milliards of livres, and the salaries necessary for the clergy at an hundred millions annually"; that the Prussian envoy had given notice the day before "that his master had ordered ten battalions to march to Liege (about ten thousand men)" because of "the late disturbances at Liege . . . not between the people and the Government, but between the citizens and the lower classes of the people"; and that the account of the taking of Belgrade had been confinned. Short added: "Mr. Jefferson mentioned to you some time ago that he had desired the Bankers of the United States at Amsterdam to remit a certain sum of money here for the ransom of our prisoners. These bills for that sum are received and at my disposal, but 1 have heard nothing from the person who was to undertake the business, nor do 1 suppose that there is the smallest probability of success. 1 think Mr. Jefferson informed you also Sir, that he had the same idea, though he thought it proper to leave nothing untried. The money will probably remain here unemployed" (Tr in same; the words in italics are in code and are decoded interline ally ). No.7, 7 Nov. 1789: stating that it was moved in the National Assembly by Mirabeau on 5 Nov. to send envoys to the United States to negotiate the payment of the American debt in flour; that in the debate some members declared that it "must be considered as a bad debt"; and that the motion would probably pass. Short added: "I have been told an American gentleman here (Mr. G. Morris) has made a contract with government for the supply of a considerable quantity of flour. As 1 did not learn this either from Mr. Morris or the Minister 1 suppose it the wish of the parties that it should not be public. 1 do not know the tenns of the contract, but imagine it may be proper to assure the citizens of the United States that this contract cannot have a monopolizing quality, and that they will meet with every possible facility in bringing their wheat and flour to the French market. M. de Montmorin authorizes me to give you this assurance." Short announced the two "very

important questions" decided by the National Assembly during the preceding week: ( 1) that all ecclesiastical property was at the disposal of the nation; and (2) that the parlements should not again assemble, since the judiciary system would be revised; and said that the provinces had given proofs of their approval of the king's going to Paris, that of Dauphlne even having "shewn marks of dissatisfaction at M. de Mounier's having retired from the Assembly" (Tr in same). See, for comparison, Short's account of Morris' projected contract in his letter to TJ, 30 Nov. 1789. No.8, 8 Nov. 1789: stating that he had not expected the premium to be continued, though he had constantly urged it, and is astonished to find it proclaimed on the 5th when the president of the committee of subsistence said on the 6th that it could not be granted "on account of the contracts entered into with private persons for supplies." Enclosure: Proclamation of the king extending bounties on importations of wheat, rye, barley, and flour from America from 1 Dec. 1789 to 1 July 1790, as follows: 30 sous per quintal on wheat; 40 sous on wheat flour; 24 sous on rye; 32 sous on rye flour; 20 sous on barley, and 27 sous on barley flour (Tr in same, with English and French texts cif the proclamation). No.9, 18 Nov. 1789: enclosing gazettes of France and of Leyden, in the fonner of which is the king's proclamation of 5 Nov. 1789 offering premiums on grain and flour importations, copies of which he had already sent by "four different channels at the time of its first appearance"; Short promised to write the next day (Tr in same). No. 10, 19 Nov. 1789: stating that the gazettes and debates of the National Assembly enclosed in his of yesterday contained proceedings concerning ecclesiastical property and also evidence of the "discontent in the States of Cambray" excited thereby; that nothing serious is feared from this opposition; that he is enclosing the journals of the preceding three days and the memorial of Necker on finances; that in the latter there is a reference to a loan in negotiation in Holland on the security of the United States debt to France, about which "M. de Montmorin has since told me he did not think it would be carried into execution" and on which Short commented: "The offer having been made

[7]

30 NOVEMBER 1789 by the Dutch proves the favor into which we are rising at Amsterdam, and of which our Bankers have long been assuring us"; that the motion mentioned in dispatch No. 7 had not been renewed and would probably end there, though Short had reason to believe that it caused the renewal of the premium on grain and flour; that the disturbances in Brabant had come to civil war and two bloody actions had taken place on the 13th and 14th, with report saying "the Imperialists were defeated in both"; that the United Provinces had declared "an unalterable neutrality," though it was "well known that the insurgents as they are called are countenanced by them"; that the march of the Prussian troops had been halted; and [in postscript:] that he had received Jay's letter of 17 Sep. and the enclosed Consular Convention with it. Short added: "It is useless to say any thing relative to those parts of your letter which regard Mr. Jefferson. I don't doubt you will see him before you receive this letter. I shall take the liberty of addressing this to you although private letters inform us that you have quitted the office of foreign affairs" (Tr in same; PrC in DLC: Short Papers). Jay's letter to Short of 17 Sep. 1789, acknowledged in the last of the foregoing dispatches, explained that the Consular Convention had not been sent earlier because it "was not until very lately that all Doubts respecting the Seal of the United States were removed," and said: "In this Office no new appointments have as yet been made, so that the Business of it could not be con-

ducted in a regular official Manner since the Organization of the present Government, by which the Validity of former Commissions had in the Opinion of many been rendered at least questionable" (FC in DNA: RG 59, PCC No. :21). On :3 Mch. 1790 Jay wrote Short acknowledging receipt of his dispatches Nos. 1-8 and 10, and added: "My removal to another Department and the expectation of Mr. Jefferson's arriving speedily and succeeding me in the Office naturally retarded the Progress of our foreign Affairs. It gives me Pleasure to inform you that he has accepted the Appointment of Secretary of State, and is expected here from Virginia in the course of a Fortnight. On his Arrival your Letters shall be laid before him" (RC in DLC Short Papers; FC in DNA: RG 59, FL; Jay made the same promise on 7 Oct. 1789 in a letter to John Skey Eustace of Bordeaux acknowledging his of 15 July with its enclosures, which he promised to place before T J on his arrival, being "persuaded he will avail himself of the Information it contains, for the Benevolent Purposes which induced you to acquire and convey it"; FC in same; Eustace's letter and enclosures, which may have related to the Algerine captives, have not been found). TJ, in his first official communication to Short on 30 Mch. 1790, acknowledged the receipt of those dispatches (Nos. 9 and 11-14) that had arrived subsequent to Jay's acknowledgment of 3 Mch. 1790. See TJ to Remsen, 5 Apr. 1790. Jay's letter of 13 Oct. 1789 BY COUNT is endorsed as received 29 Nov. 1789 (RC in DLC: Short Papers). DE MOUSTIER

From George Washington New York Novr. 30th. 1789. You will perceive by the enclosed letter (which was left for you at the Office of Foreign Affairs when I made a journey to the Eastern States) the motives on which I acted with regard to yourself, and the occasion of my explaining them at that early period. Having now reason to hope from Mr. Trumbulls report that you will be arrived at Norfolk before this time (on which event I would most cordially congratulate you) and having a safe conveyance by Mr. Griffin, I forward your Commission to Virginia; with a request

DEAR

SIR

[8]

NOVEMBER 1789 to be made acquainted with your sentiments as soon as you shall find it convenient to communicate them to me. With sentiments of very great esteem & regard I am, Dear Sir Your Most Obed. Hble. Servt., Go: WASHINGTON RC (DLC); endorsed as received "at Eppington Dec. 11. 1789" and so recorded in SIL. Dft (DNA: RG 59, MLR); in Lear's hand, docketed by Washington; dated 28 Nov. 1789. Tr. (DLC: Washington Papers); agrees with text and date of Dft, which has

minor variants from RC. Enclosures: (l) Washington to TJ, 13 Oct. 1789. ( 2 ) Engrossed copy of commission as secretary of state, dated 26 Sep. 1789, signed by Washington (MHi; FC in DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 59).

From William Tatham Mr. Goodes Manchester My DEAR SIR Tuesday Morning I am just inform'd of Your Arrival and that You are expected in Richmond. I am confined to my Bed but that shall not prevent me from being among the first to congratulate You on your Return to Your Native Land, because I do it in sincerity. I am told You came by way of London. I hope You receiv'd a Packet from me at that Place (tho' I rather imprudently made it an object with a Boat Man at Tenbay to destroy it for the Postage, which I inconsiderately paid Him and indorsed on the Letter). It containd Letters Introductory for Yourself and Suite to my Friends on the Northern Tour of England which I conjectured the troubles in France woud render a convenient one before You return'd to America. I flattered myself with Your presence there before I came away, and felt an inexpressable pleasure, that my situation put it in my Power to contribute to the information and Amusement of Yourself and the Young Ladies, and make some small recompense for the Civilities You have so frequently shewn me. I rejoice much at Your Return to Richmond on my Own Account. It will give me an opportunity to triumph over Mine Enemies, and Governor Harrisons prejudices who on a hasty conjecture of one Act He did not understand, bore down my whole political Virtue, and condemn'd me (unhear'd) as an Enemy to America. You knew my conduct on that occasion while I was in Philadelphia. Be so obligeing as mention Your Sentiments to the Present Governor Randolph. He and Mr. Short generously stepd forward in my Defence, and it is now my duty to confirm the [9 ]

NOVEMBER 1789

propriety of the cause they so voluntarily advocated. As to those opposed to me I will not trouble you, for I wou'd not have You turn on Your Heel to save mefrom the Censures of illiberallity.I hope I shall be able to get over to Richmond before You leave it. I wish much for an Hours conversation, if you can indulge me with so much of Your leisure Time. I have it at Heart to enter into public Service, if possible to return to England in the Cause of America. This is not a mere wish of Vanity, nor am I seeking a Fortune on the Ruins of my Fellow Citizens. When I have an opertunity to give you further information, I am vain enough to believe I shall have Your approbation and encouragement. If any office offers near You that will only clear my way as a Gentleman I wou'd gladly be consider'd a Candidate for Your interest. I will chearfully resign more than an equivalent to be with You. This will leave pecuniary Views out of the Question, and if a Consequence at the Court of Brittain is any object in politics I am persuaded the United States may render my services usefull in some secondary appointment for which my abilities may be suited.You know my Heart. Perhaps the World considers me as an adventurer on the common scale. My Duty to Mankind is my leading Principle. In this Cause I am accountable to my Creator. The Goods of this World are a small sacrifice when compared with the satisfaction of a Quiet Conscience. I have allready offerd (what the World call) much at this altar. I have still more to share. The remainder of a Life (shorten'd by public Endeavours) in the Service of my Fellow Creatures will be chearfully tender'd, and whilst the Spirit of true Republicanism warms my Heart towards the lowest Individual, I feel emboldend that the Royal Blood of the Boasted Throne of England, flows sufficiently in My own Veins, to give me a warrantable confidence with the most Assuming Monarch upon Earth tho' it shou'd be my lott in the Viscisitudes of Fortune to perform the drudgery of the Street for a livelyhood. -I write in Great Pain but in Sincerity Your Freind as You are the Freind of Man. In haste Yours, WM. TATHAM RC (DLC); endorsed. Entry in SIL does not indicate the date received, but the next entry (a cancelled one for 3 Dec. 1789) suggests that of the two possible dates-l and 8 Dec. 1789-the former is more likely.

The PACKET FROM Tatham may have been that recorded in SIL Index as writ· ten on 5 Oct. 1788 (missing). There is no evidence that TJ responded to that or the presI'nt letter.

[10 ]

Jefferson's Reply to the Address of Welcome of the Virginia House of Delegates I receive with humble gratitude, Gentlemen, the congratula. tions of the honorable the H. of Delegates on my return: And I beg leave thro' you to present them my thanks and dutiful respects. Could any circumstance heighten my affection to my native country, it would be the l indulgence with which they view my feeble efforts to serve it and the esteem with which they 2 are pleased3 to honour me. I shall hope to merit a continuance of their goodness by obeying the impulse of a zeal of which public good is the first object, and public esteem the highest reward. Permit me gentlemen for a moment to separate from my general thanks, the special ones lowe to you the organs of so flattering a communication. Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 52: 8938); with numerous alterations, some of which are indicated below (Dft of response to Senate committee on verso). Tr (DLC: TJ Papers, 52: 8939); attested by John Stewart, clerk of the House of Delegates, and therefore pre· sumably made sometime during 1795·8 when Stewart held that office; being a copy of extracts from the journal for 7 and 9 Dec. 1789 (see below); docketed: "No. 7th." On 7 Dec. the House of Delegates appointed a committee "to Congratulate Thomas Jefferson Esqr., late Ambassador of the United States to the Court of Versailles, on his return to his native Country, and to assure him of the Esteem, which the House of Delegates bear for his Character and public Services" (Tr in DLC: TJ Papers, 52: 8937; attested by Charles Hay, clerk of the House; also in Tr by Stewart cited above: printed in JHD, Oct. 1789, 1828 edn., p. 107). The members of the committee were Henry Lee, Isaac Zane, Edmund Randolph, Samuel Hopkins, Francis Corbin, John Dawson, Edward Carrington, Miles King, Zachariah Johnson, French Strother, William

Cabell, Jr. In JHD and in copy made by Stewart, TJ is designated as "late minister plenipotentiary from the United States" and the name of "Mr. Nicholas" is added to the committee (Wilson Cary Nicholas of Albemarle). No text of the address by the committee has been found. On 9 Dec. 1789 Henry Lee reported "that the Committee had ..• waited on that Gentleman with the Congratulations of the House, to which he was pleased to return the following Answer" (followed by full text of TJ's reply; Tr in DLC: TJ Papers, 52: 8939; JHD, Oct. 1789, 1828 edn., p. 112). The resolution, the report, and the address are printed in Gazette of the United States, 2 .ran. 1790. 1 At this point TJ first wrote and then deleted "kind." 2 TJ first wrote: "are pleased to express (for these). In whatever situation fortune or the (public will) my country may place me (their) it's (the public) good shall be my first object, their approbation my highest reward"; then he altered the passage by deletion and interlineation to read as above. 3 Above these two words TJ first wrote and then deleted: "so kindly."

Address of Welcome of the Virginia Senate SIR

As your merits led to your appointment of Minister Plenipo[11 ]

NOVEMBER 1789

tentiary to one of the first Courts in Europe, under the late American Congress, so the' Senate of Virginia, impressed with a high sense of them, are induced to congratulate you on your return into the bosom of your native Country. Their satisfaction would have been increased by this circumstance, if they could have hoped for the Aid of your Counsel in the particular exertions for the good of this Commonwealth; and they have no other gratification in the loss of you, than that their Brethren in the Union will participate of your abilities and virtues, and that you are again called to fill a Post in which you may be engaged in a manner suitable to your talents, and do honor to the Country in which you were born and bred. RC (DLC); in the hand of Humphrey Brooke; on verso: "In the Senate Tuesday December 8th. 1789 Resolved that a Committee be appointed to congratulate Thomas Jefferson, Esquire late Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States to the Court of Versailles, on his return to his native Country, and to assure him of the esteem which this House bears for his character and public services. And a Committee was appointed of Mr. [Hugh] Nelson,

Mr. [Stevens T.] Mason, Mr. [James] Taylor and Mr. [John Scarsbrook] Wills. Extract from the Journal. Test H: Brooke C S." This resolution is printed in the Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Oct. 1789, 1828 edn., p. 49, where John Gordon is also included in the committee. Nelson reported for the committee on 9 Dec. 1789 (same, p. 54-5).

Jefferson's Reply to the Address of Welcome of the Virginia Senate GENTLEMEN

I am filled with sentiments of the warmest gratitude by this very distinguished attention from the honorable the Senate. The visitl to my native country, a pleasing event in itself, is rendered infinitely more so, by the welcome of so respectable a member of the sovereignty, and by the esteem they condescend to express for me personally. My faculties, such as they are, too poor indeed to be offered, are devoted to the public service; and their approbation is my supreme reward. 2 Be so good, gentlemen, as to become the bearers of my homage to your honorable house, and accept my humble thanks to yourselves for the friendly office you have been pleased to take upon you. 3 Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 52: 8938v); on verso of leaf on which T J wrote his reply to the House of Delegates (text

printed in Journal of the Senate, Oct. 1789, 1828 edn., p. 54-5). In this brief and cool response, TJ

[ 12]

10 DECEMBER 1789 managed not only to avoid comment on the Senate's calculated inference that he would accept the post offered by Washington, but also to affirm by implication his devotion to the nation. It seems clear that the committee deliberately sought to make him commit himself on the great issue that had divided the state so closely in the Convention and public discussions of the year before. Probably before he left Norfolk (where a similar expedient was tried by the welcoming officials) , he had learned that "Antifederalism is not yet dead in this country" and at Richmond he estimated that seven-eighths of the members of the Senate were antifederalists who retained "a good deal of malevolence toward the new government" (TJ to Short, 14 Dec. 1789).

Even on a perfunctory level, these formalities in the 18th century were bound by rigid conventions, and in the present exchange there was something of the code duello as well: the calculated choice of "visit" instead of "return" was TJ's response to the committee's indelicate attempt to elicit comment on Washington's offer. 1 This word interlined in substitution for "return," deleted. 2 TJ first wrote: ''their will is my law," and then altered the passage to read as above. 3 TJ first wrote: " .•• my humble thanks for your friendly participation," and then altered the passage to read as above.

From Edmund Randolph DEAR SIR Richmond decr. 10. 1789. I shall make a statement of .my account with Mr. Mazzei, as soon as I return home; and will forward it to you. The encyclopedie I think a bargain, and shall retain it with pleasure. When we meet in N. York, I will pay you the price; stated in your late favor. I thank you for the map; and shall send the other maps, with two catgut battfedores, to Mr. Donald. The senate have disagreed to the 3d. 8th. 11th. and 12th. amendments. This day has been spent in a conference; the fruit of which cannot be known before monday. I am dear sir with great truth yr. friend and serv., EDM: RANDOLPH RC (DLC); endorsed as received 10 Dec. 1789 and so recorded in

SIL.

From Joseph Zarisny MONSEIGNER De luneville ce 10 decembre 1789 Permettee que Ie nomee joseph Zarisny Eee lhonner de representere a son Excellance que je ne suis pas satisfet dune cource que jee fet de dunkerque a paris Est de mes gagee de cette campagne. Josse vous Ecrire monseignere osix hardimant comme jee montree rna figure aux anglest parceque je ne vous En inposse pas. Jene repette pas mes service perconne nas ignoree notre bravoure. Jene [ 13 ]

10 DECEMBER 1789 managed not only to avoid comment on the Senate's calculated inference that he would accept the post offered by Washington, but also to affirm by implication his devotion to the nation. It seems clear that the committee deliberately sought to make him commit himself on the great issue that had divided the state so closely in the Convention and public discussions of the year before. Probably before he left Norfolk (where a similar expedient was tried by the welcoming officials) , he had learned that "Antifederalism is not yet dead in this country" and at Richmond he estimated that seven-eighths of the members of the Senate were antifederalists who retained "a good deal of malevolence toward the new government" (TJ to Short, 14 Dec. 1789).

Even on a perfunctory level, these formalities in the 18th century were bound by rigid conventions, and in the present exchange there was something of the code duello as well: the calculated choice of "visit" instead of "return" was TJ's response to the committee's indelicate attempt to elicit comment on Washington's offer. 1 This word interlined in substitution for "return," deleted. 2 TJ first wrote: ''their will is my law," and then altered the passage to read as above. 3 TJ first wrote: " .•• my humble thanks for your friendly participation," and then altered the passage to read as above.

From Edmund Randolph DEAR SIR Richmond decr. 10. 1789. I shall make a statement of .my account with Mr. Mazzei, as soon as I return home; and will forward it to you. The encyclopedie I think a bargain, and shall retain it with pleasure. When we meet in N. York, I will pay you the price; stated in your late favor. I thank you for the map; and shall send the other maps, with two catgut battfedores, to Mr. Donald. The senate have disagreed to the 3d. 8th. 11th. and 12th. amendments. This day has been spent in a conference; the fruit of which cannot be known before monday. I am dear sir with great truth yr. friend and serv., EDM: RANDOLPH RC (DLC); endorsed as received 10 Dec. 1789 and so recorded in

SIL.

From Joseph Zarisny MONSEIGNER De luneville ce 10 decembre 1789 Permettee que Ie nomee joseph Zarisny Eee lhonner de representere a son Excellance que je ne suis pas satisfet dune cource que jee fet de dunkerque a paris Est de mes gagee de cette campagne. Josse vous Ecrire monseignere osix hardimant comme jee montree rna figure aux anglest parceque je ne vous En inposse pas. Jene repette pas mes service perconne nas ignoree notre bravoure. Jene [ 13 ]

11 DECEMBER 1789

me Iouree des perconne qui cesont mis ala tete de cette armemant quapres avoire Etee pee de mesgage de 11 moy a un Louis par moy Est de cette cource que jee fet de dunkerque aparis. Voila tout les pare aux prisze que jee ut 124tt 9Sous. Pour prouverre a monseigner la veritee voila les lettre que jee recut de comissaire. Jeme recomande avos bontee acette Egare de macordere une petite gratification alors je seree comtem Est satisfet Est ne cesseree de ferre des veux aux cielle pour la conservation de la santee de monseigner. Sil plessest a monseigner de macorder une petite gratification voila mon adresse joseph Zarisny rue dalemagne aluneville. Jee lhonner monseigner avec tout Ie respec possible dettre vottre JOSEPH ZARISNY tres humble servitter Jetet sur la pallasse aux hordre du comodore polle jon Est En suitte sur Ie serrapisse. RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); endorsed as received 20 Nov. 1790 and so recorded in

SIL.

From Cyrus Griffin Richmond December lIth. 1789 DEAR SIR After coming with much expedition from N York I was greatly mortified at your departure from this place only some hours before I could reach the Town. I ardently wished in person to congratulate your safe arrival; and again to renew that pleasing friendship with which you once honored me. I had also the enclosed letter in charge from the President of the united States to deliver to your Excellency if in Richmond, or to forward by express. Whatever you may think proper to write shall be sent on with safety and immediately. In case you do not return to France; but shall judge it better to accept the ardent wishes of the President, let me solicit my kind friend to mention me for that foreign employment, if there shall be no particular objection. The appointment I understand would be acceptable to the French, and generally expected throughout the united States, honorable and advantageous to me, and more consonant to my turn of mind than a legal character. I am confident the President would pay the greatest attention to whatever you may say upon the subject. I should hope also that the

[ 14 ]

11 DECEMBER 1789

elevated stations I have filled in the Republic would add some consequence to the Individual. I wanted to pay my respects to my amiable young friend Miss Jefferson, but I suppose she is now grown beyond my recollection; do present to her the hearty regards of an old fellow. May I ask if you propose to visit N York this winter. During the last year I was honored by a letter from your Excellency in recommendation of a French Gentleman, which I not only answered very soon after but took the liberty to enclose two letters to my wife's sisters in Paris upon particular business. We have not heard from them since that period; perhaps they have now troubled you with letters to lady Christina or myself. I have the honor to be Dear Sir with the highest respect and consideration your most obedient servant, CYRUS GRIFFIN RC (DLC); endorsed as received "at Eppington Dec. 11. 1789" and so recorded in SIL. Enclosure: Washington to TJ, SO Nov. 1789 and its enclosures. Griffin wrote Washington 12 Dec. 1789 that TJ had left Richmond before his arrival "but the packet was immediately sent to him by express" (DNA: RG 59, MLR). If Griffin ANSWERED VERY SOON the letter from T J of 1 May 1788, his response has not been found and is not recorded in SIL Index. LADY CHRISTINA was Griffin's wife, the eldest daughter of the sixth Earl of Traquair, who had eloped with Griffin in 1770 while he was a student at Edinburgh. Griffin had already let Washington know that he would like an "appointment in the dip-

lomatic service or as a judge of the Supreme Court." It is very doubtful whether the appointment of Griffin as TJ's successor at Versailles was GENERALLY EXPECTED THROUGHOUT UNITED STATES, but the fact that

THE

Griffin wanted the post was already known in Paris (see Short to TJ, SO Nov. 1789), and the fact that Short dared to say to TJ that Griffin "cannot be supposed proper for this place" is a commentary both upon the man and upon Washington's very recent choice of him for the federal bench for the District of Virginia, an office in which he helped preside over two of the causes celebres of the period in which T J was particularly involved-the trials of James T. Callender for libel and of Aaron Burr for treason (DAB).

To Cyrus Griffin Eppington Dec. 11. 1789. DEAR SIR I am honored with your favor of to-day, and thank you for your care of the letter which accompanied it. I am sincerely sorry that I had not the pleasure of seeing you at Richmond, and of renewing to you vivfi. voce the assurances of friendship and attachment which I have long entertained for you. With respect to the office I hold at present and that newly proposed to me, the indulgence of the President leaves me incertain. I shall state to him certain circumstances and ask his decision. If he chuses to make use of me here, I shall at all times and places be ready to render you any service

[ 15 ]

11 DECEMBER 1789

in my power. This however could only be on my arrival at New York, as I do not feel myself on such a footing with the President as to suggest any person to him but in the course of a conversation when a fit occasion could be made.-I cannot at this time say from memory whether I received a letter from you inclosing others to the sisters of lady Christina, within a year past. If I did, I can answer for the having safely delivered them. I have none in charge from them at present. I am not without hopes of still seeing you either in a visit I must yet make to Richmond, or on my journey Northwardly. My daughter is thankful for your kind remembrance of her, and joins me in esteem for you. I am with great attachment dear Sir your most obedt. &: most humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Henry Skipwith Eppington Dec. 11. 1789. DEAR SIR Mr. Fulwar Skipwith informed me at Richmond that you would be there to-day, and that he supposed you would return by this place on Monday. I propose to leave this about Tuesday, and to have the pleasure of visiting Hors du monde on my way up. But as it is essential we should be together, and I find that Mr. Eppes will hardly consent to go from home, I take the liberty of begging you to come by this place that we may take such arrangements together as our mutual interests seem to require and the shortness of my stay will admit. I make no enquiries about Mrs. Skipwith hoping to see her so soon; and for the same reason add to yourself only assurances of the sincere esteem of Dear Sir Your affectionate TH: JEFFERSON friend &: servt., PrC (MID).

To Charles Carter DEAR SIR Eppington Dec. 12. 1789. Finding that Mr. Eppes has made no purchase of horses for me, the bearer comes for those you were so kind as to offer me. Thinking it almost certain that they will suit me from what I hear of them, I send you enclosed an order on Mr. Donald for £60. [ 16 J

12 DECEMBER 1789 which will be paid at sight: only be so good as to keep it up till Tuesday evening, because if, contrary to my expectations, the horses should not suit, they shall be returned to you by that time. If you have a third horse matching them in all respects and of the same age, price and qualities I will take him also: for as I shall go on to the Northward with a pair of horses in my phaeton, it will be a great relief that the horse on which my servant shall ride, may be changed with them occasionally.-One word more, my dear Sir, which is to express my uneasiness at your h[aving] supposed I imputed to you a motive in the change of p[rice] which never entered my head. I could not think you wan [ted] to take advantage of any necessity of mine, because no s[uch] necessity existed. I shall not use the horses I purchase til[l] the month of March, consequently I could not be under the spur of necessity till then, besides this I knew you too well to have though[t] it under any circumstances. I am with sentiments of sincer[e] attachment & respect Dear Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH: J[EFFERSON] PS. If you send a third horse I will send an order for paiment of the price either to yourself or Mr. Donald according as the first conveiance may offer to the one or the other. PrC (DLC); MS slightly mutilated. Enclosure not found. The tone of the letter suggests that Carter must have written T J about the MOTIVE IN THE CHANGE OF PRICE: if so, such a letter has not been found and is not recorded in SJ"L.

From Delamotte SIR Havre de Grace 12th. Deer. 1789 I hope this will find you and the Ladies safe return'd home, the news of which will give me great pleasure. Mr. Cutting having left this place soon after your Excellency embark'd, he transfer'd to me the care of assisting American Captains in obtaining from the Farm, Salt to Ballast or fully load their Vessels, to be delivered in Honfleur; my house intending to dispatch Some Ships for America amongst which might be French flags, I waited on Mr. Chalon, the controler General in this Port, to know if French Ships would receive the same favor in regard to Salt on which he wrote to the Farmers who made him the answer of which inclosed you have Copy. It seems by this answer that even American Vessels can not be Supplied with Salt in the manner expected. [ 17 ]

12 DECEMBER 1789

By means of Some friends in lower Normandy I procured Some Shepherd's Dogs and had Sent me a Bitch and four Puppies, which Should have been sent you long ago could I have prevailed on any Captain to take charge of them. However I partake of the opportunity of a Vessel my House is dispatching to Norfolk to ship the Bitch and only one of the Puppies, the others being dead; the whole family had caught the mainge and these two only recover'd. At foot is a note of our expences on the occasion, the amount of which is placed to your debit. I shall send you more of these dogs as soon as possible, that you may not fail in establishing the breed in your part of the world. I have the honor to be very respectfully, Your Excellency's Most obedient humble Servant, DELAMOTTE

P:S: I have sent to Mr. Short in Paris, a copy of the Farmer's Letter. 'Ere this reaches your hands you will have been informed that our government has renewed the late Bounties on grain and flour. On wheat 30 sl } .. On flour 40s1 ~ 100 Marc, to contmue untIlI the 1st. July next from any Port of the world. I beg leave to inclose a few of our newspapers relative to the revolution, which every day appears more and more to be planted in a Solid ground, I wish they may be a treat to your, Sir. Cost of dogs 72. O. 0 Bringing to Honfleur and from Honfleur to Havre 9. 2. 0 Paid for keep and food 32. 9. O.

£113.11. 0 I am very Sorry you Should have So considerable a Sum to pay for only Two of these Animals and hope the next sent will turn out better. RC (DNA: RG 59, CD); endorsed. Recorded in

SJL

as received 6 Apr. 1790.

ENCLOSURE

Farmers-General to Chalon Le 18e. Nove. 1789. Vous nous faites part, Monsieur, par votre Lettre du lO. De ce mois de la demande qui vous a He faite par M. de La Motte Negociant de

[ 18 ]

12 DECEMBER 1789 Votre Ville relativement it L'Armement de plusieurs Navires Franl(ois qu'il se propose d'expedier pour aller chercher des Grains dans L'Amerique Septentrionale. Vous nous marquez que c'est ce Negociant qui a He charge par M. de Jefferson de vous presenter les Capitaines Americains qui ayant apporte des Tabacs au Havre voudroient Charger it Honfleur de Sels en retour aux conditions dont nous etions convenus ici avec l'Envoye des Etats unis, et vous ajoutes que M. de la Motte espere que nous ne serons pas moins dispose a faciliter les Armements Franl(ois pour une destination aussi privilegiee dans ce moment que celle de l'importation des Bleds dans Ie Royaume, en fournissant it ces N avires quelques Carguaisons de Sel qu'ils prendroient it Honfleur et qu'ils exporteroient en Amerique, Ie Benefice qu'ils pourroient faire sur cette Speculation Le mettroit it meme de Vendre a meilleur march«! les Bleds qu'ils raporteroient en retour.-Nous desirerions beaucoup, Monsieur, pouvoir entrer dans Les Vues de M. de La Motte mais nous vous Observerons que nous n'avons Jamais He dans l'usage de Vendre des Sels au Commerce, que ceux que nous faisons venir chaque annee au Havre et a Honfleur, Sont destines en entier a l'aprovisionnement des Gabelles, que ce n'Hoit que par une condescendance Particuliere pour la demande de M. de Jefferson Envoye des Etats unis, que nous avions consenti a faire delivrer a honfleur it quartre a Cinq Navires Americains qui avoient aporte des Tabacs au Havre, Six a Sept Cent muids de Sel dont nous nous trouvions pour Ie moment dans Ie cas de pouvoir disposer pour cet usage, en arretant l'Envoy qui s'en faisoit dans ce terns la a Dieppedalle. Ces N avires Americains etant repartis sans charger les dits Sels, que nous leur avions destines, ils ont ete expedies pour Dieppedalle, en sorte que nous n'avons plus dans ce moment a Honfleur que deux mille muids de Sel. II en faut, comme vous savez, pres de 1800 mds. pour l'aprovisionnement necessaire de deux annees dans ces Depots qui doivent fournir Les Greniers de la Basserive de la Seine dans la proportion d'environ neuf cent muids par an. II n'y a donc qu'un Excedent de deux Cent muids dont une partie sera consommee par Ie Dechet que ces Sels Suporteront. Cette Explication que nous vous prions de transmettre a M. de la Motte lui Justifiera L'impossibilite absoliie oil. nous sommes de lui procurer la facilite qu'il auroit desiree pour sa Speculation, mais il lui est facile d'envoyer ses Navires charger des Sels a Brouage d'oil. ils continiieront Leur route pour l'Amerique Septentrionale. Vous devez Ie prevenir aureste, s'il n'en etoit pas informe, que les Sels par Ie Manque absolu de la Recolte de cette annee, ont considerablement rencheri, puis qu'on nous mande que Le muid ras que nous avions achete au mois de Janvier dernier au prix de 9. ft rendu a bord, se vend presentement 22.ft, et qu'il est apparent que ce prix s'elevera encore. Ces Sels nous reviendront ainsi pour Le fournissement de l'annee prochaine a plus de 90. ft Le muid de Paris rendu a Honfleur, et si d'apres ce que nous avons dit ici a M. de Jefferson, quelques Capitaines Americains ayant aporte des Tabacs au Havre, venoient a nous demander a charger des Sels a Honfleur au mois de mai prochain, terns oil. nous commenceront a en recevoir de Brouage, nous ne pourrions

[ 19 ]

12 DECEMBER 1789 les leur vendre moins de Cent Livres Ie muid de Paris. C'est ce que nous vous prions de faire connoitre it M. de la Motte Correspond ant de M. de Jefferson, aussi qu'illui en ecrive, S'ille Juge necessaire. Signe DELAHANTE TAILLEPIED DEMONTILAR PUISSANT COUTURIER COUTURIER ST.AMAND Tr (DLC); at head of text: "Monsieur Chalon Controleur General des Fermes Du Havre." See Cutting to TJ, 5 Mch. 1790.

From John Jay New York 12 Deer. 1789. DEAR SIR It gives me great Pleasure to address a Letter to you in our own country. Being informed of your having sailed, the Storm a few weeks ago rendered us apprehensive that you might be at least embarrassed on the coast.-I congratulate you very sincerely on your arrival, and join in the general wish that you may consent to remain among us, in the Station to which during your absence and without your Knowledge you have been appointed. The change in our Government will enable you to employ in that Department your Talents andl Information in a Manner as useful to the public and honorable to yourself as you have done during your Legation in France. The young Gentlemen in the Office (who are the only ones I have employed in it) are sollicitous that I should mention them to you in such Terms as I conceive they merit. Their Conduct has given me entire Satisfaction, and therefore I think it my Duty to give you this Information. With great Esteem and Regard I have the Honor to be Dear Sir your most obt. & hble Servt., JOHN JAY RC (DLC); endorsed as received 14 Jan. 1790 and so recorded in SIL. Dft (NK-Iselin); with several alterations, one of which is indicated below.

1 At this point in Dft Jay first wrote: "your Talents and (In) extensive Information," and then altered the passage to read as above.

From Richard O'Bryen Algiers, 12 Dec. 1789. "In December 1789, There are in Algiers 2 Masters at the Dey's Price 12,000 Dollars 8,000 2 Mates at 4,000 Dollars each 11 Marines at 1500 Dollars each 16,500

Dollars 20 p.Ct. [i.e., 5%] a Duty on Slaves

36,500 1,825

agreeable to the Dey's price in 1786, the cost is

38,325

[20 ]

13 DECEMBER 1789 A Mr: "Joseph Cowen Bockerie the principal Jew merchant of Algiers assures me that he will engage, and well knows that he could obtain the Americans release from Slavery on the following Terms, Vizt. for 2 Masters at 2,000 Sequins each 8,000 Dollrs. 2 Mates at 3,000 Dollars each 6,000 11 Marines at 1,300 Dollars each 14,300 First Cost 28,300 Fees and Duties to the Regency amounting to 20 p.Ct. 1,415 Spanish Dollars 29,715 Mr. Bockerie says that at the very furthest he would procure us at 2,000 Dollars each, which would be in all 30,000 Dollars, or 6750 pounds sterling, and the Dutch and Spanish Consul are of the same Opinion." Tr (DNA: RG 59, MLR); 1 p.; in clerk's hand, having at head of text: "Extract of a Letter from Richard O'Brien to the Honble. Thos. Jefferson, dated Algiers, December 12. 1789" and,

in TJ's hand "No.7." PrC (DLC). Tr (DNA: RG 59, Reports); this copy is incorporated into TJ's report on the Algerine captives, 28 Dec. 1790. Recorded in SJL as received 20 Nov. 1790.

From Charles Carter Shirley Deer. 13th 1789

DEAR SIR

Agreeable with your request, I have deliver'd the Horses to Mr. Eppes's Servant. He will leave the Hundred early in the morning, and easily reach Eppington before Night. You will be pleased to take or refuse them as you think proper. I shall be perfectly satisfied either way. You may if you please, drive them in the Neighbourhood on Tuesday, and if you don't approve of them, Let the Boy lead them down again on Wednesday.-I was certainly hurt at the Story I heard, but your polite behaviour at Richmond convinced me that you could not think meanly of me. You may rest assured that the order shall not be presented sooner than Thursday next, and if in the mean time you return the Horses I shall burn it. My best wishes attend your little family and the good people of Winter Pock. I am dear Sir most respectfully Yr. ob hble Servant, CHARS. CARTER

P.S. I am not quite certain whether these Horses are 4 or 5 years old, I think they are five years old the last Spring, but my Neighbours say, they are only four. RC (MID); endorsed as received 13 Dec. 1789 and so recorded in

[21 ]

SJL.

To William B. Giles SIR Eppington Dec. 13.1 1789. I am honored with your favor of the 9th on the subject of the hire of my servant, but as my stay in Virginia will be too short to intermeddle with my affairs I must beg the favor of you to do in the matter as you would have done had I not returned.-I take the liberty of asking information from you, if you know who are the executors or administrators of the late young Mr. John Bannister, as I have some business with them and have not been able to learn who they are. Your answer by the bearer will much oblige Sir Your most obedt. & most humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (MHi); recorded in S.JL as written 12 Dec. 1789, but dispatched on the ISth with the following letter to Giles (see note below and Giles to TJ, IS Dec. 1789). Giles' FAVOR OF THE 9TH is recorded

in S.JL as received on 11 Dec. 1789, but it has not been found. 1 Changed by overwriting from "12." to "IS."

To William B. Giles SIR Paris Dec. 12. 1789.1 Some two or three years ago. a Monsr. de Vernon of Paris applied to me to know how he might recover some property which he had in the hands of a Mr. Marck of Petersburg. I advised him to appoint an attorney here, and to furnish him with his proofs, and recommended the late Colo. Bannister. He did so. Colo. Bannister undertook the business, and 1 inclose you two letters he wrote me, containing all the information we had from him. I afterwards advised de Vernon to join Mr. Bannister the son in the power of attorney, which he did; but the death of both gentlemen prevented this new deed of Attorney from having any effect. Mter the death of Colo. Bannister, Mr. Rose his executor wrote me on the subject, but I have omitted to bring his letter and do not recollect it's contents. Monsr. de Vernon, on my departure from Paris furnished me with a new power of attorney, blank, to insert in it whatever name I should find best. I take the liberty therefore, Sir, of desiring you to undertake the recovery of this money for M. de Vernon, and for that purpose to insert your own name in the Power o( attorney, which I inclose. This will authorize you to receive of Mr. Rose all the evidences of de Vernon's rights; they consist I believe in monies in the public funds, and in furnitures of goods and money to Le [22 ]

13 DECEMBER 1789 Marek. I will beg the favor of you to inform yourself as early as you can of the situation and prospect of this business, and to communicate it to M. de Vernon in a letter to be sent to me open, as well as any subsequent letters you may be so good as to write him, in order that by a perusal of them I may be enabled to advise him what may be requisite to be done at any time. I am with great esteem, Sir, your most obedient humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (MHi); although dated 12 Dec. and so recorded in SJL, its (missing) RC, as proved by Giles' reply following, was altered to 13 Dec. as was that of the preceding day. Enclosures: (1) The two letters from Banister cannot be precisely identified, but they may have been that of 6 May 1787 and that recorded in SJL Index as having been written on 31 Jan 1788 (missing; on the possibility that this may actually have been a letter of 23 Dec. 1787, see note to TJ to De Vernon, 12 Aug.

1788). (2) The enclosed power of attorney, which was probably handed to TJ by De Vernon rather than enclosed in a letter at the time of his DEPARTURE FROM PARIS, is also missing (as is the first one made out to Banister; see TJ to Banister, 13 Sep. 1788).

The letter of 26 Feb. 1789.

MR. ROSE

was that of

1 Thus in MS: the dateline should have read: "Eppington Dec. 13. 1789."

From William B. Giles SIR Petersburg Decbr. 13th. 1789. I am this moment honord with your very polite favor of this morning, inclosing sundry papers the purport of which I have attentively examined. I have made inquiries of some of my Friends of this town who were with me at the Receipt of your favor, respecting Mr. Mark's situation in life and from their advice have reason to apprehend that Monsr. de Vernon may repent the confidence, he hath reposed in Mr. Mark. My inquiries however shall not stop here, and when I shall become further informed (agreeably to your request) I will with Pleasure write fully to Monsr. De Vernon on the subject and freely use every exertion in my power which may render Monsr. de Vernon any assistance in regaining his money from Mr; Mark. I am unable to give you any certain information respecting the administration of the younger Mr. Bannister's estate, which I believe hath not been regularly granted to any person, but I believe he hath died intestate and that Mr. Dunbar of Charles City hath taken upon himself the management of the estate since Mr. Bannister's Death. I will however Sir procure the best information on this subject and take pleasure in communicating it to you. [23 ]

14 DECEMBER 1789

You will find inclosed a rough statement of your Servant's account which I beleive to be satisfactory to him. I now deliver him the Ballance due him, the appropriation of which I submit to you to direct. I shall always feel myself honord in attending to any commands with which you shall think proper to intrust me, and am Sir with the highest Respect and esteem your most Obdt. Servt., WM. B. GILES RC (MHi); at head and also at foot of text: "Thomas Jefferson Esquire"; endorsed. Recorded in SJL as received 13 Dec. 1789. Enclosure missing.

From Richard Platt SIR

New York December 14th. 1789.

Having received from my friend Major E. Haskell, your Excellency's Certificate, of which the inclosed is a Copy, Observing with pleasure your safe arrival in Virginia, and apprehending it will be some considerable time, before your coming on to this place; I take the liberty of requesting the favor of you to transmit me the Certificates by Post, under cover either to the Chief Justice of the United States, or to the Secretary at War. I flatter myself, that my urgent Necessity for the want of the Certificates, will apologize to you, for this trouble. I have the honor to be with great respect Your Excellency's Most Obedient, and most humble Servant, RICHD: PLATT RC (DLC). Recorded in SJL as received 14 Jan. 1790. Enclosure: TJ's certificate dated at Paris, 10 Sep. 1789, that Edward Haskell had "put under Cover to Richard Platt Esquire of New-York" $150,000 of the liquidated

debt of the United States, requesting him "to transmit the same with my Dispatches to that Country" (Tr in DLC: endorsed by TJ as received 14 Jan. 1790).

To William Short Eppington Dec. 14. 1789.

DEAR SIR

My last letter was written to you on our coming to anchor. Since that my time has been divided between travelling and the society of my friends, and I avail myself of the first vacant interval to give you the news of the country to which therefore I shall proceed without further prelude. [24 ]

14 DECEMBER 1789

Marriages. Ben. Harrison of Brandon to a daughter of Mrs. Byrd. Doctor Currie to a widow Ingles, daughter of a Mr. Aitcheson. Polly Cary to a Mr. Peachy of Amelia. N. Burwell of the grove to the widow of Colo. Baylor, a Page formerly. Betsy Taliaferro to a Mr. Call. Nancy Taliaferro to a Mr. Nicholas son of G. Nicholas Petersburg. Becca Taliaferro to and she dead. Two of R. Adams's daughters to Marshall (brother of your acquaintance) the other to Mayo Carrington. Peter Randolph of Chatsworth to Miss Southall of Wmsburgh. Billy Cocke (of Bremo) to a daughter of W. Armistead of Hesse. Your brother Peyton Short to Miss Sym, daughter of a Mr. Sym formerly member of Congress for Jersey, and one of the partners in the great purchases of lands made of Congress. Your brother is to bring his wife to New York in the spring, then to come here alone to persuade his friends and particularly your sisters to go with him to Kentuckey, to which place he will return again by New York. Deaths. Colo. Dick Cary, the judge. James Cocke of Wmsburg. Governor Caswell of Carolina. Colo. Taliaferro near Wmsburgh. Colo. Jordan of Buckingham. Mrs. Harris of Powhatan. Mrs. Norton. Mrs. Digges (wife of Colo. Dudley D.). Mrs. Nicholas, widow of R. C. Nicholas. Mrs. Lindsay, wife of Reuben Lindsay. Terence, your servant. Your sister Edmund's death you know of. Miscellaneous events. Mr. Wythe has abandoned the college of Wm. & Mary, disgusted with some of the conduct of the professors, and particularly of the ex-professor Bracken, and perhaps too with himself for having suffered himself to be too much irritated with that. The visitors will try to condemn what gave him offence and press him to return: otherwise it is over with the

[25 ]

14 DECEMBER 1789

college. Mr. Henry at the present session made an unsuccesful attempt to get a portion of the revenues of Wm. & Mary transferred to Hampden Sidney: that academy, too, abandoned by Smith is going to nothing, owing to the religious phrensy they have inspired into the boys young and old, which their parents have no taste for. North Carolina has acceded to the new constitution by a great majority. We have not heard whether at the same time they accepted the new amendments. These have been accepted by our House of delegates, but will probably not be so, entire, by the Senate, 'Va of whom are antifederal. Rhode island has again refused the new constitution. Antifederalism is not yet dead in this country. The gentlemen who opposed it retain a good deal of malevolence towards the new government. Henry is it's avowed foe. He stands higher in public estimation than he ever did. Yet he was so often in the minority in the present assembly that he has quitted it, never more to return, unless an opportunity offers to overturn the new constitution. E. Randolph made a proposition to call a convention to amend our form of government. It failed as he expected.-Our new Capitol when the corrections are made of which it is susceptible will be an edifice of first rate dignity. Whenever it shall be finished with the proper ornaments belonging to it (which will not be in this age) it will be worthy of being exhibited along side the most celebrated remains of antiquity. It's extreme convenience has acquired it universal approbation. There is one street in Richmond (from the bridge strait on towards Currie's) which would be considered as handsomely built in any city of Europe. The town below Shockoe creek is so deserted, that you cannot get a person to live in a house there rentfree. Mayo'S bridge is repaired and brings him in about 20. dollars a day. He will be obliged however to take it away during two or three months of the year, for fear of floods. He has taken advantage of two islands so that it consists of three bridges, the first and second of which, next to Richmond, are of pontoons, the third is on boats. There is 2200 feet of bridge in the whole. The canal from Westham will be opened three days hence and the canoes then come to Broadrock, within 2. miles of Richmond. It will be 3. years before the residue will be finished. There are two locks only, and will be no more. Our neighborhood at Monticello is much improved. Colo. Monroe is living at Charlottesville; so is John Nicholas of Buckingham who is married to Louisa Carter of Wmsburgh. A Colo. Bell is there also, who is said to be a very good man. Doctr. Gilmer where Dick Harvie lived: the latter with his mother &c. [26 ]

14 DECEMBER 1789

gone to Georgia. Molly Nicholas keeps batchelor's house in Williamsburg. So does Polly Stith. And Becca Lewis (sister of Warner) is coming there to do the same. Tabby Eppes has not yet come to that resolution. Brackenridge whom you knew lives at the globe near J. Cole's. Wilson Nicholas lives in Albemarle also, on the great river. Joshua Fry has sold his lands there to E. RaIldolph, who by this and other purchases has embarrassed himself a good deal. Appointments. Supreme court. Mr. Jay, J. Rutledge, Wilson, Cushing, Rob. H. Harrison. J. Blair.l Every state forms a District, and has a District court. E. Pendleton was appointed District judge of Virginia: but he refuses. Several Districts form a Circuit (of which there are three in the whole) the circuit court is composed of two of the supreme judges and the judge of the District wherein they are sitting. So that the latter need never go out of his state: whereas the supreme judges will be to make four journies a year, two to New York, two to the District courts of their circuit. Marshall is Attorney for the District court of Virginia, and E. Carrington marshal of it, i.e. sheriff. E. Randolph is Attorney General for the Supreme court and removes to New York the beginning of next month. Osgood is Postmaster general. Salaries are as follows. Secretary of state of the Treasury of war Comptroller of the treasury Auditor Treasurer Register Governor of the Western territory Judges of the Western territory Assistant of Secretary of treasury of Secretary of state of Secretary of war

3500. Dollars 3500. 3000. 2000. 1500. 2000. 1250. 2000. 800. 1500. 800. 600.

Congress have suppressed the Secretaryship of foreign affairs, and put that and the whole domestic administration (war and finance excepted) into one principal department, the person at the head of which is called the Secretary of state. When I arrived at Norfolk I saw myself in the newspapers nominated to that office; and here I have received the commission and President's letter. In this however he very kindly leaves it optional in me to accept of that

[27 ]

15 DECEMBER 1789

or remain at Paris as I chuse. It was impossible to give a flat refusal to such a nomination. My answer therefore is that the office I hold is more agreeable to me, but yet if the President thinks the public service will be better promoted by my taking that at New York I shall do it. I do not know how it will end; but I suppose in my remaining as I am.-Frugality is a good deal restored in this country, and domestic manufactures resumed. Mr. Skipwith, who is here, promises me to write you fully on your affairs. I made up a bundle of newspapers for you, but I shall endeavor to send them clear of postage, so that they may get separated from this. Tomorrow I go on with Mr. Skipwith to his house, and then plunge into the Forests of Albemarle. You will not hear from me again till I go to New York which will be in March. Remember me to all my friends who may ask after me, as if I had here named them; and believe me to be your affectionate friend &: servt., TH: JEFFERSON RC (ViW); lacks two pages of text (see note 1); endorsed as received 1 May 1790. PrC (DLC). In all his years in France, TJ never received such a letter as this, and when he was absent later in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, it was the sort of letter that he desired most from his family and friends. Few were thoughtful enough to send him the budget of small news that he so coveted when away from the beloved FORESTS OF ALBEMARLE. But one of those who did write in this vein was Dr. James Currie, and the gratitude of TJ's response showed how deeply he cared about the familiar commonplaces: "It is more difficult here to get small than great news, because most of our correspondents in writing letters to cross the Atlantic, think they must always tread in buskins, so that half one's friends might be dead without it's being ever spoken of here" (TJ to Currie, 28 Jan_ 1786). Rarely has this common failing been put in more incisive words, but the present letter to Short reflects

the observation quite as eloquently. It also shows that T J possessed in abundant measure one of the first attributes of the great letter-writer: that of putting the need and desires of the recipient uppermost. Ironically, Short's need was less than T J's had been: he was primarily concerned about the important decision to which TJ appeared to give less space than he gave to deaths and marriages of more or less obscure persons. On 1 May 1790, Short wrote to Jay: "I still continue to address you my letters under the ancient form because I have had no indication of any other mode of making my official communications. Until then I shall suppose the department of foreign affairs under your direction-particularly as I learn by a letter received yesterday from Mr. Jefferson, dated the 14th. of December, that he had declined, as far as depended on him, accepting that department" (DNA: RG 59, DD)-MR. SYM was John Cleves Symmes (DAB). 1 RC ends at this point; remainder of text has been taken from PrC.

From Alexander Donald My DEAR SIR Richmond 15th. Decemr. 1789 I sincerely hope that this letter will find you safe arrived at Monticello. I have been told that you had sent for Mr. Carter's [28 ]

15 DECEMBER 1789

horses. I therefore lay my account with your drawing acquaintance, James Brown (who has the sole management of my business) ill favour of that Gentleman for Sixty Pounds, which you may assure yourself will meet due honour. I herewith send you a letter from Mr. Edmund Randolph, who sent down here two days ago, Two Parcells of Elegant and Correct Maps, and a pair of Racketts for playing Tennis. Pray what is to be done with them? I was withheld by considerations of Delicacy from saying much to you about your present Crop of Tobacco. You were pleased to ask me whether it was most for the Interest of the Planter to ship his Tobacco, or to sell it in the Country. There is no subject that I can give so decided an opinion upon. Where the quality is good, it must ever be the Interest of the Planter to Ship it, as it is clearly his Interest to sell in the Country if mean. A Purchaser here has not the opportunity of seeing what he buys, or if he had, dare he make the true discrimination between the different qualities. Some Tobacco passed at this place is worth 12. or 15.qfl. Ct. more than others passed at the same Inspection, but a purchaser who has a retail Store, or who has many debts owing to him, dare not give one man 12. or 15./ more than he gives another, For the man who has the mean Tobacco will insist upon the very same price that was given for the good, or he will be affronted, and leave off dealing with the man who has made such a distinction, or allow his Creditor to get his money as he can. In London the case is totally reversed. No man there will buy a hhd. till he sees it, and then he gives for it whatever it appears to be really worth. For a mean hhd. he will not give more than 2 :/hd ljff lb. when at the same time he will not hesitate to give 4 :/hd. for another, and both hhds. probably passed at the same Inspection in this State. This I assure you I have repeatedly known to happen, a difference of two pence qfl Pound is above Eight Pounds sterling qfl hhd., and the Commission, Freight and charges are the same on both. From the foregoing reasoning you will see the principles that I go upon; If they are just, my commission must be equally so. I am very confident that I have refused the Consignment of some Thousand Hhds. for the best of all reasons, a belief that the quality was mean. My Commission as I have already observed is the same. I charge one guinea in full of every thing upon a mean hhd., and I charge no more upon the best.-But should you still entertain any doubt of what you should do with your Crop, and come to a resolution of selling in the Country, you will much oblige me by offering it [29 ]

15 DECEMBER 1789

to me. I will give as much as any man for it, and pay the money upon delivery. I take it for granted that you do not stand in need of any advance upon your Tobacco, should you conclude upon shipping it, but if you do I have no objection to advancing you Nine or Ten Pounds stg. ~ hhd. on it. Your Puppies are thriving apace. I wish I could with truth say so much of their Mamma. I shall not have much Credit by her, she is regularly fed, and has plenty of water by her. Whenever your waggons come down, the Packages mentioned in your memorandum shall be sent. Whenever I can serve you, I hope you will command me with the utmost Freedom. I am with great Respect My Dear Sir Your mo. obt. hum. St., A. DONALD I find that Mr. Skipwith has already gotten the letter from Mr. Randolph. RC (MHi); endorsed. Recorded in as received 24 Dec. 1789. The letter from Randolph that Donald had expected to enclose was that of 10 Dec. 1789. S.JL

The PUPPIES and THEIR MAMMA were the sheep dogs purchased at I.e Havre (see note to diary of Nathaniel Cutting under 28 Sep. 1789).

To John Dunbar SIR

Eppington Dec. 15. 1789.

Having a small matter of business with the estate of the late Mr. Bannister the younger, and being informed that no person has as yet qualified to administer on his estate, but that in the mean time you are so kind as to attend to it, I take the liberty of addressing myself to you, hoping, if I have been misinformed, you will be so good as to put my letter into the proper hands. When Mr. Bannister was about to leave Paris in January or February 1787. he found that he had not money enough by a considerable sum to pay his debts and carry him to Havre where he was to embark for America. He communicated his difficulty to me, and asked me to lend him what might be necessary to relieve him from it. The distress to which he was exposed, his worth, and my regard for him and his family were motives more than sufficient to induce me to extricate him from his embarrassments. The morning he was going away I sent him (by his servant whom he had sent with a letter to me for that purpose) what was necessary for the accounts he had already got in, and his expences to Havre, and he returned me from Havre his promisory note for the money dated at that place February 10. 1787. and now in my [ 30]

15 DECEMBER 1789

possession but there were some accounts which he had not been able to get in, nor even to know their exact amount. He desired Mr. Burrill Carnes, American Consul at Nantes, but then at Paris and in intimate habits of friendship with him, to get in and settle these accounts, and I charged myself with their paiment. Mr. Carnes sent me a specification of them the 19th. of February and I paid him their amount on the spot, being 1241 livres 9 sols as appears by that specification and his receipt now in my hands. I have a letter of Mr. Bannister's of January 31. 1788. apologising for his making me no remittance, and another of April 20. 1788. with a bill of exchange of £50 sterling inclosed in it as a partial paiment, which bill was protested for nonpaiment. By these several vouchers it appears that my advances for Mr. Bannister have amounted to 4073 livres 19 sols, which at 25 livres to the pound sterl. (the common exchange) is £162 19 sterl. But, recurring to my private memorandums, I find I have noted against him only 3173 livres, 19 sols or £128.19 sterl. Consequently, either I have omitted 900 livres or 36 sterl. to my prejudice, or Mr. Bannister has made an error of that amount to his prejudice. My memory not enabling me to say which has been the case, I am willing to suppose the latter, and consequently that my advances, contrary to the evidence of the vouchers, may have been but 3173 livres, 19 sols, or £126 19. sterl. I desire no advantage of extraordinary,interest to be taken of the circumstance of his bill having bee~ protested. The account then will stand as follows. Mr. John Bannister junr. deceased to Th: Jefferson Dr. livres sols 2800 0 1787. Feb. 10 To his Promisory note Feb. 19 To cash to Burrill Carnes for discharge of his accounts 1241 9 1788. Oct. 21 To charges of Protest on his exchange of £50. sterl. being 26/ 32 10

By a supposed error as before explained Principal remaining due to Th:J

4073

19

900 3173

19

Should yourself or any other person be so kind as to honour me with an answer on this subject, if sent to the care of Mr. Alexander Donald at Richmond, it will find me in this country till the middle of February. [ 31 }

15 DECEMBER 1789

I beg leave through you, Sir, to present my respects to Mrs. Dunbar and Mrs. Bannister, and have the honour to be with sentiments of great esteem Sir Your most obedient & most humble TH: JEFFERSON servt., PrC (DLC). Banister's letters of 31 Jan. and 20 Apr. 1788 are recorded in have not been found (see TJ to Banister, 27 July 1788).

SJL

Index, but

William Short to John Jay Paris Dec. 15. 1789 I make use of a private conveyance which presents itself to send to you though by a circuitous route, the gazettes of France and Leyden, the journals of the national assembly, and some other papers which I have thought might be agreeable to you. The two first will present a very accurate idea of the present state of politics in Europe as low as they come. But information of a later date from the Austrian Netherlands has just arrived here. A truce had been agreed on and the Emperor had sent M. Cobenzel, formerly his minister at Brussels and very much beloved in that country, with full powers to arrange all differences. The offers of the Emperor, and the conduct of his generals, were so different from what had been expected, that it was supposed by all, the truce would be converted into a full reconciliation. In this situation of affairs an express was received last night by the Count de la Marek, inviting him to come immediately to take command of the troops of Flandres. That province which came into the opposition later than Brabant seemed now less disposed to listen to terms of accomodation. The Count de la Marek who is of the richest and most illustrious family in that country had long since entered into the service of France and is a member of the national assembly. He immediately set out from hence, and in his letter written this morning to the President to notify his absence, he said he should want himself to support in his native country those principles which he had just seen established in his country by adoption. This circumstance is the more remarked as the Count de la Marek has been uniformly an avowed enemy to the present revolution in France, and considered among the most zealous supporters of the aristocratical party. The intelligence brought by the express was that Brussels had been surprised by the patriotic army. The first redoubts which were attacked were carried, and a considerable number of the ImDEAR SIR

[ 32 }

15 DECEMBER 1789

perial troops joining the patriotic colors, put the town immediately into their hands. General D'Alton who commanded, escaped with such of the troops as adhered to him, and was endeavouring to get to Luxemburg whilst a detachment of the patriotic forces was endeavoring to intercept him. This intelligence however is not official, and as the express came from Gand he may be mistaken in some of the details. Several letters have arrived here however this morning which confirm them. You will recieve inclosed also Sir, the plan proposed by M. de la Borde for alleviating the present distresses of finance by a bank. It was received with great applause by the assembly and a committee imediately appointed to report on it in conjunction with the Minister. After some days examination the plan was considered by the committee as absolutely inadmissible. As among the great variety which had been presented to the assembly, this alone had been put in competition with that proposed by the minister, there is no doubt his will be adopted. No report has been yet made, but one of the committee told me a few days ago that this would be the case, with some inconsiderable alterations. He added that the plan was considered as very defective by the committee, but the least objectionable means of passing over the next year, after which term the resources and exigencies of the nation would be properly balanced. I send you also Sir, a state of the expences and demands for the months of November and December, with the receipts for the same term. It will shew you an alarming and pressing deficit. It is that which exacts so imperiously the immediate application of some kind of remedy. The motion in behalf of the colonies herewith inclosed will shew you that that subject is before the assembly. The committee which has for some time had it under consideration have not yet made their report. I don't doubt the liberty of their commerce, as far as it regards their supplies of provisions, will be extended. I have had several conferences with one of the deputies who will make considerable exertions in the business. The merchants of Bordeaux and Nantes are giving it every opposition in their power and particularly those who are members of the assembly. I mentioned in my letter to the Secretary of the Treasury accompanying my last to you, the nature of proposals made to the ministry here by two different companies for the purchase of our debt to France. They have since united and intend proposing terms more advantageous than those mentioned in my letter. From a con[ 33 J

15 DECEMBER 1789

versation I had yesterday with M. de Montmorin, I think it certain their terms will be accepted. Should that be the case I ::;hall lose no time in giving information of it. I will ask the favor of you Sir to communicate this circumstance to the Secretary of the Treasury. The letter from the President to the King was delivered as mentioned in my last. I waited on the minister yesterday to recieve the ratification of the consular convention. He had made me hope for it long before, but it is not yet ready and the present confusion of all public offices is the reason he has always given for the delay, which he assures me however shall not be continued more than a few days. The medal executed here for Commodore P. Jones, by order of Congress, has lately been received by me and Mr. Grand has paid the Artist its amount agreeable to the contract with Mr. Jefferson, out of the money deposited in his hands for that purpose. I have the honor to be with sentiments of the most perfect respect & attachment Sir, Your most obedient and most humble servant,

W:

SHORT

PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head of text: "No. 12"; at foot of first page: "The Honble. Mr. Jay."

To George Washington Chesterfeild Dec. 15. 1789.

SIR

I have received at this place the honour of your letters of Oct. IS and Nov. SO. and am truly flattered by your nomination of me to the very dignified office of Secretary of state: for which permit me here to return you my humble thanks. Could any circumstance seduce me to overlook the disproportion between it's duties and my talents it would be the encouragement of your choice. But when I contemplate the extent of that office, embracing as it does the principal mass of domestic administration, together with the foreign, I cannot be insensible of my inequality to it: and I should enter on it with gloomy forebodings from the criticisms and censures of a publici just indeed in their intentions, but sometimes misinformed and misled, lPld always too respectable to be neglected. I cannot but foresee the possibility that this may end disagreeably for one, who, having no motive to public service but the public satisfaction, would certainly retire the moment that satisfaction should appear to languish. On the other hand I feel a degree of familiarity with the duties of my present office, as far at least as I am capable [34 ]

17 DECEMBER 1789

of understanding it's duties. The ground I have already passed over enables me to' see my way into that which is before me. The change of government, too, taking place in the country where it is exercised, seems to open a possibility of procuring from the new rulers some new advantages in commerce which may be agreeable to our countrymen. So that as far as my fears, my hopes, or my inclination might enter into this question, I confess they would not lead me to prefer a change.-But it is not for an individual to chuse his post. You are to marshal us as may best be for the public good: and it is only in the case of it's being indifferent to you that I would avail myself of the option you have so kindly offered in your letter. If you think it better to transfer me to another post, my inclination must be no obstacle: nor shall it be, if there is any desire to suppress the office I now hold, or to reduce it's grade. In either of these cases, be so good only as to signify to me by another line your ultimate wish, and I shall conform to it cordially. If it should be to remain at New York, my chief comfort will be to work under your eye, my only shelter the authority of your name, and the wisdom of measures to be dictated by you, and implicitly executed by me. Whatever you may be pleased to decide, I do not see that the matters which have called me hither will permit me to shorten the stay I originally asked; that is to say, to set out on my journey Northward till the month of March. As early as possible in that month I shall have the honor of paying my respects to you in New York. In the mean time I have that of tendering you the homage of those sentiments of respectful attachment with which I am Sir Your most obedient & most humble servant, TH: JEFFERSON RC (DLC: Washington Papers); at foot of page (and also in a similar notation in SIL): ''The President." PrC (DLC). Actually, Washington's letters of IS Oct. and SO Nov. 1789 had not been

received AT TIllS ton on 11 Dec.

PLACE,

but at Epping-

1 At this point TJ wrote "often" and then deleted it.

To Francis Eppes DEAR SIR Hors du monde Dec. 17. 1789. I enclose you the letter to Mr. Wythe. We arrived here safely last night in eight hours and a half from your house, having been obliged by the lateness of our departure to come rather brisker than we would have chosen. However the horses were perfectly [35 ]

17 DECEMBER 1789

well after it. We had got everything over the river before day light shut in. The girls are well except as to their colds which are much the same. Be so good as to remember the wild cherry trees and ray grass. Present me affectionately to Mrs. Eppes and the children and believe me to be Dear Sir Your sincere friend & TH: JEFFERSON servt., Pre (MHi). Enclosure: TJ to Wythe, this date.

From William Temple Franklin Philadelphia Deer. 17. 1789.

DEAR SIR

Amidst the Congratulations of Public Bodies on your Arrival will you receive those of an Individual, who has long entertained the highest Esteem for your Character, as a Man, a Philosopher, and a Statesman. Permit me also felicitate you on your late honorable Appointment, tho' I am not certain you will accept of it; but this I know, that if you do, I shall in common with my Countrymen rejoice at the Event. It is fortunate for this Country, that the Executive is now vested in a Person, who knows how to distinguish and reward Merit; and in no Instance has he given a greater Proof of it, than in the Choice he has made of you to fill one of the first and most important Places in Government. But notwithstanding your Return to your native Country has been attended with the most flattering and pleasing Circumstances, you will I am confident frequently regret the amiable and enlighten'd Circle of your Parisian Friends. You were I have been told fix'd much to your Satisfaction, and happy in a select Society. No one I believe that ever lived long in Paris, would leave it without Reluctance: Yours however must in some degree have been diminish'd, owing to the present disagreable State of Affairs in that Country. Your Situation there latterly must, I think, have been not altogether pleasing; and perhaps not perfectly safe. The Minister of a Country, which it is suppos'd sow'd there the Seeds of Liberty, might be suspected of assisting in the Harvest. I long much to see you and hear your Account of Affairs there, for as yet we have had but a very imperfect one: I have likewise to treat with you relative to some Busts &c. belonging to Mr. Hudon, who in a late Letter refers me to you. I made him an Offer of Land for them, as they would not sell here; and as we have no Person who [ 36 J

17 DECEMBER 1789

understands packing such Things, I was confident they would be broke to Pieces if attempted to be sent back to him; besides incurring a considerable Expence of Freight &c. I am not however very anxious about having them, if you can dispose of them to greater Advantage; as I think it not improbable that I shall soon go to Europe, having (as you will perceive by the inclosed, which I handed to several of the Senate; and one nearly similar to the President) hinted my Wish to be employ'd in the Diplomatic Line. I know from good Authority that the President is well disposed towards me, and desirous of complying with my Views, but that he waits your entering on the Duties of your Office previous to making any foreign Arrangements. Should you think me worthy your Patronage I know you will afford it me, and not else; I need not therefore solicit it; but whether I obtain it or not, I hope you will do me the Justice to believe me, with unfeigned Respect & Esteem, Dear Sir, Your most obedt. Friend & Servt., W. T. FRANKLIN My Grandfather desires me to present to you his most affectionate Respects:-His Health is but very indifferent. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 14 Jan. 1790 and so recorded in closure not found.

SJL.

En-

To George Wythe DEAR SIR Cumberland Dec. 17. 1789. My friend Mr. Eppes is informed that his son's situation at the college, by subjecting him to attendance on certain courses of lectures, withdraws him from the pursuit of what you might recommend preferably. But his first wish being that his son should follow implicitly what you would be so good as to recommend, he does not hesitate to decide on his quitting the college, and boarding in such a part of the town as you think best, where he may be employed as you shall direct. On this subject he writes to his son. His wish is to bring him up to the .law, and we imagine that till he shall be ready to begin the study of that, he may usefully take lessons sometimes in the mathematics and Natural philosophy, and begin a course of historical reading: because these will extend the sphere of his knowlege if he should embrace the profession of the [law] and be ornamental, useful, and pleasant to him, if circumstances determine him finally to prefer the equally respected occupations of agoriculture, and domestic life. I join 'my solicitations, [ 37 ]

21 DECEMBER 1789

my dear Sir, to Mr. Eppe's, that you will be so good as continue your good offices to this our young friend, assured that [Mr.] Eppes will in all cases desire him to conform to whatever you de[sire] and that he will consider himself as under the greatest obligations as will also your sincere and affectionate friend, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC); right margin of MS frayed, affecting several words of text.

From James Brown [Richmond] 21 Decem. 1789

Sundrys ~ the Waggons No. 1. 1. 3. 11. 21. 22. 23B. 38. 4.B 10J. 14B 37B. A Large Trunk A Middle Sized Do. A Small Do. A Portmanteau A Case of Hats Two Yams 4 Loaves Sugar A Cask containing 1 Cheese 23M! to. @ 1/6 1 Pound Tea 17/6 6 to. Chocolate 1/3 12 to. Coffee 1/9 3 Bottles Mustard 1/3 1 to. Pepper 3/ 2 Loaves Sgl.Refd Sugar 2 " Dble Rd. Do.

40.B 41.

.£1.5.3 17.6 7.6 1.1. 3.9 3. 1.10 1.4

£6.12.-1

A Cannister Tea 3 Parcells Shoes Six Codfish No white Biscuit to be had in the present moment. Sir Above is a list of the articles now sent by the Waggons. No. 2. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 12. 13. 15. 16.20 will go by water. No. 17. and 39 appears missing, a package No. 60 remains here which I presume is one of the Packages missing and that the Box sent to [38 ]

22 DECEMBER 1789

Edmd. Randolph Esqr is probably the other. No. 19. will be reserved for Mr. Eppes and delivered to your Order. Not a Gloster Cheese to be had in town, have sent you a Wiltshire which I hope will please. With Respect I am Sir Your Obet Servt, JAMES BROWN

Mr. Donald begs to be remembered to you. The Biscuit and a Cask Cyder, if to be had, will go by next opportunity. Should any Salt be wanted, you will please write me. RC (MHi); endorsed as received 24 Dec. 1789 and so recorded in 1

SJL.

An error for £7 2s., the amount for the cheese being miscalculated.

From Bethune-Charost La haye Ce 22. Xbre. 1789.

La marque de Confiance, Monsieur, qui vient de vous etre accordee, est la juste recompense de vos travaux et de vos vertus. Personne ici n'en est Surpris, et je ne Serai point etonne d'apprendre un jour qu'Elle n'a Surpris que Vous. II S'eleve a ce moment un nouvel Etat en Europe, dont les rapports Commerciaux peuvent devenir fort importans pour les Etats Unis. Me permettriez-vous, Monsieur, de vous adresser a ce Sujet un memoire instructif, dont, si vous Ie juges convenable et pour plus grande precaution, Je pourrois en meme temps envoyer Ie Duplicata a M. Adams a Londres. J'ai l'honneur d'etre avec un tres Sincere attachement, Monsieur, Votre tres humble & tres obeissant Servit[eur,] BETHUNE-[CHAROST]

RC (DLC); part of signature lost by mutilation of MS; endorsed as received 5 Apr. 1790 and so recorded in SJL.

From Jacob Sarly SIR

Ship America Wampoa, China Decemr. the 22d. 1789

As the Commander of an American Ship I feel it a Duty incumbant on me to Inform you of any Circumstances which may affect the Dignity or Honour of my Country in this Quarter of the Glo[be]. And as it has been my study during my Abscence to Support the character of an American; I feel the Insult offered to our Colours [ 39 ]

22 DECEMBER 1789 with double force by Foreigners wearing them without the smallest title to that Priviledge; And as I Concieve that the only means of making ourselves respectable abroad depends on our Own Conduct, I could not pass over the present which is the Reason of my Troubling you; There are here Sir two French ships (under American Colours) both I understand belonging to the Isle of France; the one Called the Washington, having the Papers of a ship of that Name which was sold some time since, and the former Captain a Mr. Haskell is the nominal Commander of the Present one; The other is without any Papers except French and False Portuguese, which he endeavoured to Pass with at Macao, but that not being Permitted, they proceeded to this Port, under American Colours, and Fortunately for them they met with the Ship Jay, (Thomas Randall Esqr Commander,) a few miles below this, and who I am well informed for a small sum of money protects her as his Property; This mode of Conduct from a Person under the Character of one coming from America has appeared to me extremely Irregular, and I think I should not do myself, nor my Country Justice, to be a Witness to such proceedings, without Conveying the Information of it to you. Independant of this, the Conduct of the Ship toward the British has been very Improper, and which has Cast a Reflection on our Flag here. I trust Sir you will Excuse the Liberty I have taken, and Attri[bute] it to no other than the Real Motive, that of Endeavouring to [keep] the Colours of America Sacred in Foreign Ports; And am Sir Your Most Obedient Servt. JACOB SARLY RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); addressed: "The Honorable John Jay Esqr Secretary of Foreign Affairs to the United States of America New York il The Federalist Capt. Dale"; endorsed by Remsen: "Capt. Sarly recd 20 May 1790"; endorsed by TJ as received 27 May 1790, and so recorded in SJL. A letter from Canton, 18 Dec. 1789, was published in Gazette of the United States, 22 May 1790 stating that fourteen ships had arrived there that season

bearing American colors.-TJ met Sariy in New York, soon after this letter arrived, at "an Entertainment on board the ship America, Capt. Sariy, lately from Canton, which was honoured by the company of the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary at War . . . the Governor of the State, and a very large and respectable company of other citizens" (same, 31 July 1790).

William Short to John Jay Paris Dec. 22. 1789 In my last I mentioned the retreat of the Imperial troops from

DEAR SIR

[40 ]

22 DECEMBER 1789

Brussels. The last accounts of General D'Alton who commands them are that he had arrived at N amur and after a short stay, left it in hopes of remaking Luxemburg. In this retreat through a part of the country known for its zeal in the opposition, the troops confined their hostilities to personal defences. Much the greater part joined the inhabitants. It was their defection which forced so unexpectedly the retreat of the general. The victorious party have shown the greatest moderation at Brussels. Every precaution is taken for the security of the personal property of those who are obnoxious on account of their attachment to the Emperor. So long as the views of the patriotic party were confined merely to a resistance to the Sovereign a perfect union of sentiment prevailed, but the progress of events, as was to be expected, has enlarged their views and rendered them dissimilar. The nobles and clergy are not averse to an accomodation which should render to the Belgick provinces their ancient privileges, as by them the Tiers Etat is counted for little. It is not doubted they will make use of their present knowledge of their forces and of the example of France to require conditions of a different kind. A variety of ideas have already made their appearance among the leading members of the different orders. As yet however there are not sufficient data to form a conjecture of the result. At present the Emperor seems to have thrown himself on the discretion of the provinces. His tone of co-ercion is changed into that of solicitation and will continue so probably unless peace should be made with the Porte. Some symptoms of this sort have lately made their appearance. Among them is reckoned the liberation of the Russian Minister confined at Constantinople since the beginning of the war. The reduction of Bender on the 15th of last month by the Russian troops and the possession of Bucharest by the combined armies, added to a series of former victories, will be powerful motives to pacific measures.It is evident that the two Imperial courts are alarmed at their own successes. Their ministers here talk of them with the greatest moderation, and seem disposed either to say nothing on the subject of the present campaign or to speak of it as far less advantageous than is generally imagined. This is the more observable as the same men last year published every little success in the most exaggerated terms and sometimes magnified even a defeat into victory. The present situation of the affairs of Liege must also give uneasiness to the Court of Vienna, as it has become evident that the King of Prussia means to make use of it to enter the game playing in the low countries if necessary. His troops now occupy the citadel [41 ]

22 DECEMBER 1789

of Leige. Those of the other two Directors of the circle are so far inferior that· they are scarcely taken into consideration. The proclamation made by the commander of the Prussian troops establishes the government on the footing that the Bourgeoisie had put it in the late revolution which induced the Prince to leave the territory. This establishment however is only temporary and the permanent is to be fixed by the States of the Principality under the auspices of the Prussian troops. Some have imagined that there would be an union formed between the Belgick pr..Pvinces and Liege and others that this union will be extended to the Dutch provinces. But these are vague conjectures as yet. The general result depends on a number of circumstances which I am persuaded are not yet developed to the leaders themselves. A plan of finances for the next year has been at length adopted. It is that which I mentioned in my last. It extends the operations of the caisse d'escompte in such a manner as to enable it to give a longer term for the 90 millions of livres due it by government and also to make a furthe'l' advance to government of 80 millions in the first part of the next year. This advance is to be made in their paper known by the denomination of billets de la caisse. Their circulation is to be forced in the capital, but optional in the provinces as has hitherto been the case. The operation is generally considered as a bad one, but the least so of all those proposed. A riot took place some time ago in the port of Toulon between the troops or rather the officers and the people. They arrested M. D'Albert de Rioms the commandant with some others and put them in prison. The confinement being judged illegal and dangerous, an order was immediately sent by the minister to have him set at liberty. The assembly after some debate sent an order also to the same purpose. The ministerial order arrived first and was not obeyed. It was feared the mob would destroy the magazines in the port which by the confusion they became masters of. This fear however has ceased by advice being recieved that on the decree of the assembly arriving the commandant and other prisoners were immediately set at liberty and order re-established. No report has as yet been made on the subject of the colonies. The assembly was occupied this morning in hearing a report of the committee of judicature. The plan proposed will introduce a total change in the jurisprudence of this country. The trial by jury is adopted in the report. There are four different appeals also in cases of importance. This feature seems generally condemned. [42 ]

25 DECEMBER 1789

But as yet the reasons which decided the committee in favor of it have not been heard. I have not yet received the consular convention. The reasons mentioned in my last are the cause of the delay. If I had it I should not send it with this letter which goes by the English packet. The public offices are at length removed and established at Paris, so that I shall certainly have the convention as soon as an opportunity of sending it. I beg you to be assured that there shall be no delay on my part, particularly as it will give me an occasion of assuring you of the sentiments of perfect respect & attachment with which I have the honor to be Sir your most obedient & most humble servant, W: SHORT PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head of text: "No. IS"; at foot of first page: ''The Ronble. Mr. Jay"; one page lacking, supplied from Tr (DNA: RG 59, DD).

From William Short DEAR SIR Paris Dec. 25. 1789 This letter will go by the English packet and of course through the English post. I shall therefore confine the subject of it to such things as I am not unwilling should be read there. I did the same in a letter which I wrote three days ago to Mr. Jay, and shall continue it in that which will inclose this to you.-The plan of finance for relieving present exigencies is adopted. The foundation was laid by the memorial of Mr. Necker which I long ago inclosed to Mr. Jay. Several other plans were proposed, one by M. de la Borde was received with such transports of applause that it was feared for a moment the assembly would adopt it by acclamation. Ten commissioners were immediately appointed to examine and report on it in concert with the minister. After some days examination it was determined by the committee that the plan was absolutely impracticable (it was sent to Mr. Jay where you may see it). Some alterations were made in the plan formerly proposed by Mr. Necker and adopted by the assembly. The Abbe Maury one of the committee opposed it with his usual vehemence, and proposed in lieu of it that the Clergy should give 100 millions a year during four years. This would have secured the order of the Clergy and for that reason alone would have been refused by the Assembly. The outlines of the plan adopted are that the Caisse d'escompte is to give a further time for the payment of the 90. millions due by government and [43 }

25 DECEMBER 1789

also to advance 80. millions more in its billets for the exigencies of the early part of the ensuing year. The circulation of their billets is to be forced in the capital and optional in the provinces as formerly. In July 1790, the caisse d'escompte is to be forced to exchange money for the billets de la caisse it bureau ouvert. At present they only exchange a certain sum in each day. To indemnify the caisse d'escompte they are to be allowed to make new actions to the amount of 200. millions. Further they are to have assignations on the caisse de rextraordinaire et billets d'achats to the amount of the 170 millions. The caisse de l'extraordinaire is to be composed of the patriotic contribution, the amount of sales ordered by the present decree, and all other extraordinary receipts whatever. The sales ordered are the royal domains and a part of the ecclesiastical property both together to the value of 400. millions. The billets a'achat are billets to be issued bearing an interest of 5. pCent and to the amount of the sales to be made, and to be received of preference in the purchase of the domains and ecclesiastical property to be sold. These billets a'achat are not a paper money, their circulation not being forced. This operation has not affected the stocks considerably. They were rather higher on saturday last whilst the affair was in debate than they are now, and the caisse d'escompte has fallen a little more than the other public effects. The actions of the former were on Saturday last from 3805. to 3770. They were yesterday from 3765. to 3745. The assembly has been for two days past employed in discussing a subject which it had been thought was decided in the articles of the constitution, whether the Non Catholics, Jews and Comedians are capable of being elected to all places civil and military. The subject was brought on by a member who wished the assembly to declare in direct terms the eligibility of protestants in order to remove some doubts entertained on this subject. The most philosophical part of the assembly were for a general clause declaring that no person whatever should be excluded for his worship or profession, provided he had fulfilled the conditions required by the articles of the constitution. The other parties united to have a separation of the question so as to decide separately on the different classes supposed to be subject to exclusion. The question decided last night determines that the non-catholics are citizens to all intents and purposes. It was further decreed that there shall be no exception to the eligibility &c of any citizen whatever, other than those fixed by the articles of the constitution - 'sans rien entendre innover relativement aux Juifs sur l'etat desquels l'assemblee se reserve de prononcer.' It will probably be decided in [44 ]

25 DECEMBER 1789

their favor. Its being an article of doubt shews that the first enthusiasm of the assembly is abating. The truth is that the present calm and security of the members enables many of them to shew an adhesion to former principles which they did not venture to do in times of trouble. On the whole this is a good symptom though it may produce a disagreeable effect in abridging the extension of the principles adopted formerly by the assembly.-It was decided in the article of the constitution then in order to be eligible to the national assembly it is necessary to have among other requisites that of being subjected to a direct tax of a marc d'argent in value, 54 livres. The philosophical part of the assembly have made repeated trials to have this clause abolished or abridged, as yet in vain. A variety of sorts of members, viz. nobles, clergy, rich, and those who think it necessary that the representative should have a certain degree of property all combine against those who think the confiance des commettans the only quality which ought to be required. The article will probably remain as it is.-What is here called the licenciousness of the press is now exercised against both parties of the assembly. The most vehement libels against the leading members of the democratical party with their names at full length are sold at the door of the national assembly. It was formerly said by those who are called the aristocrats that the opposite party supported the liberty of the press because they were secured against its attacks by the fears of the printers. It appears at present however that they supported the liberty of the press from principle. One of them (M. de la Meth) said a few days ago in answer to the Abbe de Montesquiou who complained of a libel and insisted on the necessity of curbing the licentiousness of the press, that members of the assembly should despise these calumnies, that the public was always just and not to be imposed on by anonymous libels, that each member should repose on the virtue of his conduct and that it would be seen at the end of the legislature whose reputation was the best and deserved to be so. He obtained universal applause not so much on account of the sentiment as because he was personally interested having been more calumniated, and what is still worse here, more ridiculed both in verse and prose than any other member of the assembly. The committee of the constitution is preparing a law on the liberty of the press. It is to be feared that it will be subjected to certain conditions. My own opinion is that words printed should be considered by the law as words spoken and subjected only to the same conditions. When the authors name is not knpwn the printer [45 ]

25 DECEMBER 1789

should be considered as the author, but I find few persons of the same opinion. One of the libels which has been circulated here with some industry is entitled 'Decouverte d'une conspiration contre la France.' It was at first sold at the Palais Royal sous Ie manteau and with an air of mystery. Few people however purchasing it it was sent to a great number gratis. The conspiracy is the society Des amis des noirs which you know has been established here two or three years. It is said there, under the vain pretence of being useful to the slaves of the Islands, the society is formed by the court of London and that all its members are a sect of illumines, paid by England; that Warville had many conferences with Mr. Pitt, after his return from America where he had gone when young as a cabin boy; that having committed many crimes at N. York he was obliged to leave the country, went to London where he was taken into the pay of that court for this purpose. This and a thousand other absurdities fill the work. What renders it piquant is that all the names of the members are subjoined. It is evidently contrived by the owners of estates in the islands, in order to defeat any attempts the society may make towards the abolition of the slave trade. They have taken other measures also less justifiable but perhaps more efficacious. That is to wait on those members of the assembly who it was said meant to move the abolition of the trade, and to threaten them in terms of assurance that they would assassinate the first member who should make the motion. Mirabeau has been frightened by them and it is said others also. Several duels have been fought among the members on various occasions. Chr. de la Meth mentioned above and M. de la Bourdonn aye , the latter wounded. M. de Maubourg (whom you have often seen at Mde. de Tesse's and M. de la fayette's at Versailles) with the Vicomte de Mirabeau, the latter wounded. Two others of the commons a day or two ago, but no lives as yet lost.-A discovery has been made some time ago of an attempt to forge the billets de la caisse, and effets royaux. The instruments of forgery and articles forged have been seized. The author being put in prison put an end to himself before trial. These effects were deposited at the greffe of the Chatelet. An attempt was made some nights past to recover them by robbery. The robbers failed of the object but carried off a considerable sum of money and jewels which were there. Three of them are arrested but it is not yet known what discoveries they may make. The commons of Paris have directed that the Chatelet should not only pursue the authors of the troubles of the month of July, but those of the 4. and 5th. [46 ]

25 DECEMBER 1789

of Octob. You know that the Baron de Bezenval comes under the former description. He is arrested and is now under trial but after the examination of a number of witnesses nothing appears against him. M. de Puysegur was denounced by the commons of Paris also. He has presented himself for his justification. Nothing has as yet been done concerning him. The marechal de Broglie and Prince Lambesc are denounced also and will probably be condemned by contumacy as they wrn· certainly not appear.-The suspected authors of the 4th. and 5th. Octob. are of a very different class, but no measures are as 'yet taken against them, and probably will not. The Duke of Orleans shews no disposition to return here. His household yesterday underwent a great reform. The appointments of a considerable part of them are suspended for twelve months. It is said his affairs are deranged. I see very often the Dutchess. She bears it all with a great deal of resignation and fortitude. A good deal is kept out of her knowlege, but much she is obliged to know. A report was lately circulated that she had demanded a separation des biens. She has signed an act before a notary to certify the falsity of the report. Her attachment to the Duke and her incomparable goodness of heart make her suffer much on account of his present position and the distresses of those of her house who are reformed. As to herself personally she will be better served certainly than she has been though not as well as she deserves to be.-Amongst the number of sufferers who are here there is no one for whom I am so much distressed as poor Pio. Quite unexpectedly he received the day before yesterday a letter ordering him to repair immediately to Genoa where he will receive his orders. I have not seen him for a long time but I learned this from one of his friends yesterday. He fears that he has been betrayed by some one and that his principles in the revolution here (he had become an enrage) are the cause of the order he has received. This is his suspicion. No reason whatever is given for his recall.-Mde. de Tesse is still in Switzerland. She will not return here before the spring. M. de Tesse as well as all the Queen's household except the Duke de Saulx are reformed. New books since my last are the Memoires de Due de Choiseul printed under his eye at Chanteloup. It is a robbery committed by one of his secretaries. They are two small volumes, and only interesting on account of some of the intrigues of the court during his ministry. The Tra'Vels of M. de Veillant in Africa from 1780 to 1785, interesting on account of the naivete of the author, the novelty of the subject, and some curious observations on natural history. He asserts the fact of the tablier of the female sex denied by Sparman. [47 ]

25 DECEMBER 1789

The work is in two volumes, but to be continued.-M. de Meilhan whom you know is preparing the memoirs du Duc de Richelieu from the papers of the Duke put into his hands by the family.We had severe cold here during a part of the month of November. It gave apprehensions of a winter like the last. At present the air is quite mild and much too warm for the season. During the first three weeks of this month we were envelopped in a continual fog which deprived us for that time of a sight of the sun. At this moment he is shining very bright but two hours ago it was raining.-I beg pardon for having omitted to send you the letter of Mde. de Corny mentioned in my last. It was an omission occasioned by the hurry of the moment. You will receive it enclosed at present.-Since your departure I have received an account of the death of my sister by the way of Kentuckey. It was a very cruel stroke. I still suffer much on account of my sisters who remain. My brother is I hope long before this time with them. He may perhaps see you at Colo. Skipwith's. I wrote him if that should be the case to consult you on an affair which he will explain to you. I hope you will excuse the liberty I took, and I beg you to be so good Sir as to give him your advice as it regards us all. I have been so long accustomed to count on your friendly advice for myself that I ask it at present for those who are interested with me.-I begin to be very anxious to hear of your arrival, although I am sure it will be a long time first. I think every hour in the day, at present, that you are perhaps in that instant setting foot on American ground. My imagination is immediately warmed and I transport myself near you and participate the pleasures you must receive with your amiable family. If I was disposed to forget you I could not here. There are numbers of people who ask me every day 'si j'ai de vos nouvelles.' With many this question is instead of saying 'il fait bien froid aujourdhui.' I answer them accordingly, but there are others who inquire after you with such an interest that our conversations about you, your voyage, the probability of your arrival, the time I may expect to hear of it, &c. and our conversations are lengthened and we have become friends by your means. Among these I reckon the old Dutchess d'Enville, who is sincerely attached to you. That alone would be sufficient to render her the favorite of your real friend, W. SHORT P.S. My compliments to Miss Jefferson. Tell her I have not as yet received any letters for her from any of her friends here. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 23 Mch. 1790 and so recorded in SIL. PrC (PHi); lacks second page. Enclosure: Madame de Corny to TJ, 25 Nov. 1789.

[48 ]

William Short to John Jay SIR Paris Dec. 26. 1789 I received yesterday from the Baron de Rieger Minister of Wirtemberg a paper which he enclosed to each of the corps diplomatique entitled 'Observations pour la Serenissme Maison de Wirtemberg.' It is a reclamation against the arretes of the national assembly of the 4th of August. Although I do not think it worth while to send you the observations by post, I have thought it my duty to mention the communication, it having been made officially. You know that the Order of Maltha made a similar reclamation. There are other sovereigns who have fiefs and dimes in France. They will probably reclaim also. I know not what effect it will produce on the national assembly. Some time in the early part of this month two letters were sent here from Van der Noot the Agent general of the Brabanc;ons, one addressed to the King, another to the National assembly. You will have seen by the journals of the assembly which I sent you by the way of Havre that the King had not thought proper to open that addressed to him. The national assembly did not send back that which they recieved. Its examination was adjourned to a particular day without being opened. That day passed without any thing being said on it. It has not been yet taken up and probably will remain without further notice there. What effect a future application may have I cannot say, as the patriotic party in Brabant is becoming every day more organized and of course more respectable. Van der Noot with the committee which had hitherto been setting at Baden, has made a solemn entry into Brussels. The Dutch Minister residing there followed the procession in ceremony. The committee has excercised several acts of sovereignty and the several provinces are considering on the mode of forming an union. There are three separate opinions said to exist. One of treating with the Emperor and remaining under his dominion on certain conditions. A second for chusing a prince of their own, and a third for forming an independent republic. After all it is more than probable that they will not chuse for themselves. The neighbourhood of the United Provinces and the present posture of a Prussian army must give these persons a decisive weight. A Person known to be attached to the service of Prince Henry of Prussia and enjoying his confidence said here a few days ago that the Prince was to take the command of an army of eighty

[49 ]

26 DECEMBER 1789

thousand men on the confines of Poland. Whether this is to be a diversion in favor of the Turks or the low countries is not known.some suppose it relative to disturbances which are said to be beginning in Poland. I saw a letter lately from the King of Poland to his correspondent here. He declares himself fully for a revolution in favor of the commons of that country and regrets that it cannot be effected immediately. He adds that he [is]l sowing the seed which may be reaped by a successor. As yet the nobles are all and the other class nothing. The ignorance and oppression of the peasantry will necessarily retard the revolution. It is observed however in that letter that some of the nobles have caught the enthusiasm prevailing in France and have emancipated their peasants. For some time the appearance was not favorable respecting the production of the patriotic contribution. Since the adoption of the plan of finance eight days ago, the appearances have changed. One of the principal collectors in Paris has received more within that short space than during the three months which preceded it. The assembly added a new spur yesterday to this contribution, which is voluntary at present but will be forced after the expiration of two months-the names of the persons are to be printed together with the sums which they shall declare to be the fourth or more of their revenue. One of the deputies of the Islands renewed his denunciation three days ago, against the Minister of the. Marine. He desired the assembly would fix a day for the discussion of the subject, and would allow him in the mean time to deposit the authentic papers which he had in support of his denunciation. No decision was taken on his demand. A day next week was fixed for deliberating on the present situation of the islands. A person was arrested yesterday on suspicion of having designs hostile to the revolution. He had been formerly in the guards of Monsieur, and was lately employed by him to negotiate a considerable loan. These circumstances put together occasioned a good deal of uneasiness among the people of Paris, which was increased by a paper signed and circulated, saying that the plot had been to assassinate Messieurs Bailli and de la Fayette, and carry the King off to Metz. It was added that Monsieur was at the head of this conspiracy. To prevent the ill effects of this calumny he went this evening to the hotel de ville to justify himself. A person who has just come from thence has shown me a copy of his speech which he wrote as it was delivered. Among other remarkable expressions is

[50 ]

The secretary of state begins to report. (See p. xxxi.)

Jefferson gives Short secret instructions. (See p. xxxi.)

Jefferson instructs Polly in the use of a copying press. (See p. xxxi.)

Jefferson's seal. (See p. xxxii.)

Columbia College in 1790. (See p. xxxii.)

View of Federal Hall and Wall Street, by Archibald Robertson. (See p. xxxii.)

Black marble clock ordered by Jefferson, 1790. (See p. xxxiii.)

The "Bowling-Green Washington." (See p. xxxiii.)

Benjamin Franklin's "testimony . . . on the . . . disputed river of St. Croix." (See p. xxxiv.)

Washington's set of American medals executed in France. (See p. xxxv.)

I.

George Washington. Evacuation of Boston, 17 Mch. 1776. (See p. xxxvi.)

II.

III.

IV.

Horatio Gates. Saratoga, 17 Oct. 1777. (See p. xxxvii.)

Anthony Wayne. Stony Point, 15 July 1779. (See p. xxxvii.)

John Stewart. Stony Point, 15 July 1779. (See p. xxxvii.)

V.

William Augustine Washington. Cowpens, 17 Jan. 1781. (See p. xxxvii.)

VI.

VII.

John Eager Howard. Cowpens, 17 Jan. 1781. (See p. xxxvii.)

Nathanael Greene. Eutaw Springs, 8 Sep. 1781. (See p. xxxvii.)

VIII-XVII.

MATERIALS FOR THE MEDAL HONORING DANIEL MORGAN'S ACTION AT COWPENS,

VIII.

17

JAN.

Preliminary sketch for obverse.

1781. (See p. xxxvii.)

IX.

Preliminary sketch for reverse.

XI. X.

Intermediate drawing for obverse.

Wax sketch of reverse.

XII.

Blerancourt drawing of obverse.

XIII.

Blerancourt drawing of reverse.

XIV.

Raised die (''hub'') of obverse.

XV.

Raised die ("hub") of reverse.

...•.•< .• '-.~.- ~

~:..

~:., ~~ j~ "-- "" r/~~A:: .' ,,~,";. ;~:\'~'\" . " , : . til \I.,

...:::! .

.

1$" I, •

'

I,

"

"

XVI.

; I

'1 .

•.

-'~ '~. "t.l~/Y. ~:/ '

..... 1, ... ·

. -,~,~:.-~..:

J.

• \',

C-./J ~;"" .

/' '"

, t}... /

- 'II

I .

'. ,. .0:,',LI'

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:'-"\.

. ~~

'l""".

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,

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Obverse of medal .

XVII.

Reverse of medal.

XVIII-XXI. MATERIALS FOR THE JOHN PAUL JONES MEDAL. (See p. xl.)

XVIII-XIX. John Paul Jones. Engagement of Bon Homme Richard and Serapis, 23 Sep. 1779.

XXI. Engraving depicting reverse of Renaud's medallion. XX. Dupre's drawing for obverse.

XXII-XXIX. MATERIALS FOR THE DIPLOMATIC MEDAL OF 1790. (See p. xli.)

XXII. Raised die (''hub'') of obverse.

XXIII. Impression of the seal of the United States.

XXIV.

XXVI.

Damaged die of obverse.

Plaster medallion of obverse.

XXVIII.

Obverse of medal.

XXV.

XXVII.

Die of reverse.

Soft metal proof of reverse.

XXIX.

Reverse of medal.

Englehart Cruse applies for a patent for his "perpetual cylinder." (See p. xlii.)

The Charles River Bridge, 1786, having timbers impregnated with cod-liver oil. (See p. xliii.)

26 DECEMBER 1789

this-lIn my quality of citizen of Paris, I have thought it my duty to explain to my fellow citizens &c.' After showing what was the real relation between himself and the persons arrested he took occasion to speak of his conduct during the second assembly of notables, where he voted in favor of the double representation and added that he had from that time never ceased to think that a great revolution was necessary and that the King ought to put himself at the head of it.-The loan which he had desired to negotiate was to enable him to payoff his household without burthening the public Treasury. He was much applauded by all ranks at the hotel de ville and has now an opportunity of entering on the stage of the revolution. As yet he has remained quite obscure. His declarations this evening have been so full and solemn that if he does act at all, it must be against that party which is considered as hostile to the revolution, and which would certainly have counted on him as their chief in case they should [decide]l they have become sufficiently powerful to show themselves.-This letter will go by the English Packet. Of course it is confined to facts that are public. I will only add to these the assurances of perfect respect & attachment with which I have the honor to be Sir your most obedient and very W: SHORT humble servant, PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head of text: "No. 14"; at foot of first page: "The Honble. Mr. Jay." Tr (DNA: RG 59, DD). Short may have enclosed in this dispatch a copy of the speech of MONsmUR (see Short's dispatch of 12 Jan. 1790). The person ARRESTED YESTERDAY was Favras. Lafayette discovered the plot, Favras was promised leniency on condition of revealing his accomplices, he

confessed, MONsmUR (Comte de Provence) made the speech at the Hotel de Ville on Mirabeau's suggestion, some letters found on Favras belonging to Provence were restored to him, unopened, by Lafayette, and Favras finally was executed ( Louis R. Gottschalk, Era of the French Revolution, 17151815, p. 179). 1

This word editorially supplied.

To Henry Skipwith Monticello Dec. 26. 1789.

DEAR SIR

Our voyage from Hoors du monde was pretty easy. I determined at Mrs. Carr's to divide the remaining part equally into two days by coming to the Byrd ordinary. A wretched place indeed we found it: but we could not have got up by any other division without the danger of lying in the woods. From there we came with your horses 15. miles to the stone quarry where my waggon horses met us, and relieved yours. The three-notched road is so deeply cut by the waggons, and continues to grow so much worse daily, [ 51 ]

28 DECEMBER 1789

that you must of necessity change your route. I would not derange a settled plan but that I see the absolute impossibility of your reaching Monticello in one day from the Byrd or any other house whatever. I have spoken to young J. Nicholas. He sais his [father] expects that you will always come by his house [and] that there is now no inconvenience, as he keeps now a boat in James river as well as in Slate river. He has written to his father to expect you the 29th. of January, and on the 30th. my horses shall meet you where my road leaves the main fork road, about 9 miles from here. It is thereabouts there begin to be some little hills. We are all well. Give our love to Mrs. Skipwith and the young people & accept assurances of the attachment of Your affectionate friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (ViWC); slightly mutilated.

From Augustine Davis Richmd. Deer. 28. 1789.

SIR

I have enclosed you two letters by the post who rides to Albemarle, which he has promised to deliver safe. The postage amounts to 3/10. Be pleased to inform me in what manner you would wish to have your letters forwarded in future and I will be careful in sending them. The letter which you put into the hands of Mr. Johnson for the President of the United States, was forwarded to New York last Wednesday. I am, Sir, yr. Most Obt. Servt., AUG. DAVIS

RC (MHi); endorsed as received "at Monticello Jan. 1. 1790" and so recorded in S.TL: Enclosures: (1) Trumbull to TJ, 26 Nov. 1789. (2) Dowse to TJ, 29 Nov. 1789.

From Jean Baptiste Petry SIR

Charleston 30th December 1789

I have received but in August last the letter you honoured me with on the 21. August 1788. with the power of attorney of Count de Cambray therein inclosed. Your expected return in this Continent has made me postpone this answer to congratulate you upon your safe arrival and in the same time to assure you of the high regard and respect with which I have the honor to be Sir your Excellency'S The most humble & obedient Servant, PETRY RC (MHi); endorsed as received 24 Feb. 1790 and so recorded in

[52 ]

S.TL.

Notes on American Medals Struck in France I. DAVID HUMPHREYS TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, 4 APR. 1786 II. MEMORANDA CONCERNING DISTRIBUTION, COST, AND MAKERS OF MEDALS, [CA. FEB. 1789] III. JEFFERSON'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDALS, [CA. FEB. 1789] IV. JEFFERSON'S NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE MEDALS, [CA. 8 JULY 1792]

EDITORIAL

NOTE

Among the several attributes of sovereignty that Congress assumed during the period of confederation was that of authorizing commemorative medals by which, in keeping with the practices of nations in all ages, public gratitude to exalted characters would be expressed, the virtues of patriotism inculcated, and the memory of great actions perpetuated. This was an undelegated authority, but the men who exercised it acted in the obvious belief that it was both a legitimate function and a powerful instrument of nationality. The medals were intended to be "grateful to the illustrious personages for whom they are designed, worthy the dignity of the sovereign power by whom they are presented, and calculated to perpetuate the remembrance of those great events which they are intended to consecrate to immortality."l The costs of artists' designs, the making of dies, and the requisite gold and silver were so great as to surprise even Benjamin Franklin, who was not easily daunted by expense, yet there is no evidence that anyone opposed or even questioned such an assumption of power by Congress. It is significant that the first medal was authorized some three months before the resolution dissolving the ties between the colonies and Great Britain brought the new sovereignty into being. It is to be expected, therefore, that the events commemorated should have been military and that the nation's medals should have been intended and received as symbols of the heroic and the glorious. This conception, indeed, was so firmly fixed in the public mind that when the Philadelphia Agricultural Society proposed gold and silver medals as awards for the development of new methods in husbandry, a newspaper writer scorned the idea as incompatible with traditions handed down from former ages. "Antiquity," he declared, "had other methods of rewarding her hog-herds and styebuilders."2 This was a restrictive view that Thomas Jefferson could scarcely have adopted. One who believed that "the cement of this union 1 David Humphreys to the secretary of the Academie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 14 Mch. 1785; Loubat, Medallic history, I, xiii-xiv. 2 Daily Advertiser (N.Y.), 24 Mch. 1790.

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AMERICAN MEDALS 1789 is in the heart blood of every American" could appreciate patriotic symbols of the heroism of war without rejecting those marking the achievements of peace. Thus when it fell to him to supervise the execution of medals commemorating military victories, he dispatched the task with the imaginative zeal that he gave to any object designed to strengthen the union and to enhance its dignity. Yet when he became secretary of state and was faced with the need of procuring a medal to be awarded to foreign diplomats, he chose for its design the emblems of peace and commerce. S On the day after Congress received news in 1776 that the British had evacuated Boston, John Adams moved that "a medal of gold be struck in commemoration of this great event" and be presented to General Washington in the name of Congress "and in the name of the Thirteen United Colonies, whom they represent."4 Between that date and the end of its existence Congress adopted a series of resolutions directing that ceremonial swords be engraved and that ''medals be struck in order to signalize and commemorate certain interesting events and Conspicuous Characters."5 The struggle for independence and the scarcity of artists and die-sinkers in America caused a postponement in execution, though these causes did not operate to the extent generally assumed. For medals had been struck in the colonies, Jefferson himself had caused one to be executed in Virginia in 1780, and a design for the first to be authorized by Congress was promptly drawn by DuSimitiere in Philadelphia. 6 One, commemorating the capture of Major Andre by Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart, was actually executed in America during the war, though it was an engraving of single copies in relief rather than a true medal struck from dies. 7 In all, fifteen medals were authorized and ten swords were awarded by Congress during the confederation period. 8 The events commemorated were S See documents under 20 Apr. 1790; the quotation is from TJ to Lafayette, 14 Feb. 1815. 4 :Tee, IV, 234; Adams to Washington, 1 Apr. 1776, Burnett, Letters of Members, I, 413; Richard Smith's Diary, 25 Mch. 1776, same, I, 407; Washington to Adams, 25 Apr. 1776, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, IV, 484; Washington to Congress, 18 Apr. 1776, same, IV, 488·90. In commenting on a resolution of thanks to Washington of 8 Oct. 1777, which was accompanied by another resolution adding Henry Laurens and Thomas Heyward to the committee appointed ''to carry into execution the resolution of Congress ordering a medal to be struck and presented to Genl. Washington," Fitzpatrick interpreted this as meaning that a medal was authorized in 1777, and added: "No further information appears in the Journals of the Continental Congress. The medal was never struck"; same, IX, 351. But the appointment of Laurens and Heyward was to the committee designated in 1776 to procure a medal for Washington, the only one to be voted him. See :Tee, IX, 784-5. 5 :Tee, XXXIII, 422. 8 See C. Wyllys Betts, American colonial history illustrated by contemporary medals (New York, 1894); Hans Huth, "Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere and the beginnings of the American historical museum," PMHB, LXIX (1945), 322; Vol. 4: xxxvii, 35-6, 106. 7 Loubat, Medallic history, I, 37. 825 Mch. 1776 (George Washington); 4 Nov. 1777 (Horatio Gates); 26 July 1779 (Anthony Wayne, Franl;ois de Fleury, and John Stewart); 24 Sep. 1779 (Henry Lee); 3 Nov. 1780 (John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart); 9 Mch. 1781 (Daniel Morgan, John E. Howard, Willia.m A. Washington); 29 Oct. 1781 (Nathanael Greene); and 16 Oct. 1787 (John Paul Jones); :Tee, IV, 234; IX,

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EDITORIAL NOTE the evacuation of Boston, the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, the engagements at Stony Point, Cowpens, and Eutaw Springs, the capture of Major Andre, and the victory of the Bonhomme Richard over the Serapis. In addition to those awards that were to be presented with "the approbation of the sovereign authority of the United States," several medals were struck that were not authorized by Congress. Two were issued in 1782 to commemorate the recognition of the United States by Holland and the negotiation of the treaty of amity and commerce with that nation. 9 The same year Franklin conceived the idea of striking a medal to signalize the victories at Saratoga and Yorktown because the "extinguishing of two entire armies in one war is what has rarely happened, and it gives a presage of the future force of our growing empire."lO Robert R. Livingston approved and Franklin issued the medal that has come to be known as the Libertas Americana medal. He had Pierres print 300 copies of the description of the medal to accompany presentation copies, and an engraved broadsheet by Bradel carrying the same descriptive text in French announced that the medal was "frappee par les Americains."l1 But Congress never actually authorized it to be struck. 12 Progress in executing the medals was slow and the order of issuance haphazard owing to a number of factors, not least of which was the imperfect communication existing among the number of individuals concerned in the operation from first to last-principally Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, David Humphreys, and Thomas Jefferson. The Washington medal was the first to be authorized, but was not presented until fourteen years later when Jefferson arrived in New York as secretary of state. That medal and the one for Gates' victory at Saratoga were the only ones that had been authorized when Congress received news of "the late glorious enterprize and successful attack on the enemy's fortress" of Stony Point and adopted resolutions awarding a gold medal to Anthony Wayne and silver medals to Franl(ois de Fleury 862; XIV, 886, 890; XVIII, 1009-10; XL'!:, 246-7; XXI, 1085; and XXXIII, 687. In all, ten presentation swords were voted during the war for the following officers: Return Jonathan Meigs, Marinus Willett, William Barton, John Green, John Hazelwood, Samuel Smith, Andrew Pickens, Tench Tilghman, John Pierce, and David Humphreys; JCC, vm, 579-80; IX, 772, 862; XIX, 247; XXI, 1082, 1085, 1108. A committee recommended that Otho H. Williams of the Maryland line be given a sword for his conduct at Eutaw Springs, but this was rejected by Congress; JCC, XXI, 1085. 9 The first will be reproduced in the forthcoming edition of the diaries of John Adams, edited by Lyman H. Butterfield, wherein the descriptive note contains the following extract from John Adams to Charles Spener, 24 Mch. 1784: "'These Medals were not Struck by any public Authority,' but were 'the Invention and Execution of the Medalist Holtzhey of Amsterdam solely.''' See Loubat, Medallic history, I, 57, 74. 10 Franklin to Robert R. Livingston, 4 Mch. and 12 Aug. 1782; Franklin, W Ntings, ed. Smyth, VIII, S89, 578. 11 Bradel's broadsheet is reproduced in Carl Zigrosser, "Medallic sketches of Augustin Dupre in American collections," Procs. Am. Phil. Soc., 101 (1957), 5S9. Numerous letters to Franklin thanking him for presentation copies of the medal are in the Franklin Papers, American Philosophical Society. 12 It is worth noting that the diplomatic medal that TJ proposed and caused to be executed was not authorized by Congress; see documents under 20 Apr. 1790.

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AMERICAN MEDALS 1789 and John Stewart emblematical of the event. These resolutions, adopted 26 July 1779, were drafted by Gouverneur Morris, who, evidently anticipating Franklin's idea of using medals as small coins, provided that 5,000 copies of the medal in copper "be struck for Congress." This proviso, however, was not adopted. 13 The next day James Duane introduced a resolution ordering that ''the Board of Treasury cause the medals in honor of the Commander in Chief and other officers of the United States, to be struck without delay, agreeably to the several resolutions of Congress on this subject."14 Washington published the glowing resolutions about Stony Point in general orders, and evidently instructions were promptly given to Franklin by the board of treasury. Within a few months Franklin had engaged Pierre Simon Duvivier to cut the dies for the medal intended for De Fleury. The cost was 2,000 livres, and Franklin reported to Livingston that he hoped to get "the others" done more cheaply, presumably alluding to the medals that had been voted for Washington, Gates, Wayne, and Stewart. 15 The silver medal to be presented to Henry Lee for the action at Paulus Hook had been voted only two months after those commemorating the capture of Stony Point, but Franklin evidently was not informed of this later resolution. 16 Six years were to pass before another of the medals ordered by Congress was executed in France. In this interval, as may be imagined, military vanity was not soothed by the reflection that, of all the awards authorized by Congress for officers serving in the American army, the only one to be presented was to a foreign subject and a subordinate officer of Anthony Wayne, one of the most ardent seekers of military fame and one who was entitled to a gold medal for leading the assault in which the junior officer earned one of silver. It is easy to conceive that the meetings of the Society of the Cincinnati were enlivened by comments on the dilatory procedures of Congress, and it is certain that influence and sectional rivalry came into playas Congress authorized other medals and swords toward the close of the war. When news of Morgan's victory at Cowpens arrived early in 1781, the committee appointed to report not only involved itself in matters of medaIIic design but also provoked some opposition in Congress. The committee proposed a gold medal for Daniel Morgan and both silver medals and swords for John Eager Howard of the infantry and William Augustus Washington of the cavalry. The swords were not approved and an effort was made, either in committee or in Congress, to award a gold medal to Howard "representing on one side the charge ordered and conducted by him in that critical moment when the enemy were thrown into disorder," but this, too, was rejected. Apparently the difference of opinion over the relative achievements of 13 .TCC, XIV, 886-7, 890. The commissary general of purchases, the marine committee, the board of war, and the board of treasury were among the agencies that Congress directed to procure medals and swords. 14 .TCC, XIV, 893. 15 Franklin to president of Congress, 4 Mch. 1780; Loubat, Medallic history, I, xi. 16 The Stony Point medals and that for Henry Lee were authorized on 26 July and 24 Sep. 1779; .TCC, XIV, 886-7; xv, 1100.

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J

EDITORIAL NOTE Howard and Washington caused the matter to be referred back to the committee, who thereupon recommended silver medals for both men with designs and inscriptions representing the exploits of each in the engagement. But Congress relied instead upon its original and simpler mandate that the three medals for Morgan, Washington, and Howard should bear "emblems and mottos descriptive of the conduct of those officers respectively on that memorable day."17 Congress also rejected that part of the committee report which sought to affect the design of the Morgan medal by requiring, on one side, a statement of the numbers of both armies, of those killed, wounded, and taken prisoner, and of the trophies seized, and, on the other side, ''the figure of the General on horseback leading on his troops in pursuit of the flying enemy, with this motto in the Exergue, Virtus Unito Valet."18 The committee was composed of Thomas Burke of North Carolina, Thomas Bee of South Carolina, and James M. Varnum of Rhode Island. It could scarcely have escaped attention that all of the awards made at that time, including a ceremonial sword voted for Andrew Pickens, honored officers from southern states, whereas Morgan's commanding officer, Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island, had received no signal honor for his conduct of the strategy of the campaign in the south. That such influences were at work is indicated by the fact that Varnum, on 17 Oct. 1781, moved that a gold medal be awarded to Greene. The action chosen to be thus signalized was the dubious victory of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement to be fought in South Carolina. The motion was referred to a committee of which Varnum was chairman, and its report, presented on the day that Congress celebrated the news of Yorktown with a number of congratulatory resolutions and the authorization of a marble column to be erected at that place, paid tribute to Greene's "wise, decisive and magnanimous conduct in the action . . . in which, with a force inferior in number to that of the enemy, he obtained a most signal victory." Congress approved the recommendation that "a golden medal emblematical of the battle and victory" be awarded to Greene. 10 This was the last medal to be voted until, in 1787, Congress paid belated tribute to John Paul Jones' victory over the S erapis. 20 Among all of those commended by Congress at the close of the war, no one had better cause than David Humphreys to be zealous in pressing the execution of medals long since voted for Washington and others, for he owed his own recognition by Congress to the influence of the commander-in-chief. Washington singled out his versatile aide-de-camp to convey the captured enemy standards from Yorktown to Philadelphia, adding to this distinction a recommendation to the president of Congress to take notice of Humphreys' "fidelity, and good services."21 The 17 ICC,

XIX, 246-7, 248. This inscription was proposed in substitution for "Fortus Fortuna Juvat," which was deleted, perhaps in committee. 19 ICC, XXI, 1059. 20 ICC, XXXIII, 687. 21 Washington to president of Congress, 27 Oct. 1781; Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, xxm,299. 18

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AMERICAN MEDALS 1789 event profoundly affected the young poet. At Philadelphia he was "met on the commons by the City troop of horse, and by them paraded through two or three streets of the city ... where he laid the standards at the feet of Congress to the great joy ofa numerous concourse of spectators. "22 Trumbull planned to celebrate this symbolic episode in a painting, and Humphreys is said to have engaged a European artist to portray the presentation of the flags. 23 Congress attended to Washington's recommendation immediately by directing the board of war to present to Humphreys "an elegant sword . . . in the name of the United States in Congress assembled."24 Another and more emphatic example of Washington's influence in behalf of Humphreys came two years later when, on surrendering his commission to Congress at Annapolis, the general particularly recommended the two aides who then accompanied him, Humphreys and Tilghman. The recommendation caused some embarrassment. Congress had already authorized swords to be presented to both officers and was puzzled to know what course to take in the face of an appeal that could not be disregarded. MifHin, in an aside to Humphreys, requested that, "if anything should occur" to him in consequence of Washington's suggestion, he should communicate by letter and MifHin would "take great pleasure in laying it immediately before Congress."25 Humphreys interpreted this as "generous encouragement" and decided to signify in a concise and respectful manner his "readiness to obey the commands of Congress." But first he wrote Washington naming three offices likely to be in the gift of Congress, and suggested that if Washington should write a private letter to the president of Congress particularizing the object in view, his letter "would be of sufficient avail."26 The offices aimed at were the post of secretary for foreign affairs, the command of a regiment, or the secretarial duty under a foreign mission-stated in that order. Washington, whose affection and esteem for Humphreys were undeniable, complied at once but placed the command of a regiment first. As for the office that Humphreys had put at the head of his list, Washington revealed his greater sensitivity by saying that it was one he could "barely hint at, with all possible deference, and with a diffidence" that proceeded more from the doubt of his propriety in suggesting it than from any doubt of Humphrey's competency. He closed by begging Congress to excuse him if he had "gone too far." Much as he valued Humphreys' qualities, there is no doubt that this ambitious request by the former aide caused him considerable embarrassment, not lessened by the fact that Humphreys had asked for a copy of Washington's letter. Congress allowed four months to elapse before designating Humphreys as secretary to the American commissioners for negotiating treaties of commerce. 27 As he prepared to depart, Humphreys asked 22 Penna. Gazette, 7 Nov. 1781. 23 Humphreys, Humphreys, I, 235-6. The painting is reproduced and two versions of its origin are given in same, I, 236. 24 JCC, XXI, 1108. 25 See Vol. 6: 402-13. 26 Humphreys to Washington, 6 Jan. 1784; Humphreys, Humphreys, I, 292-3. 27 Washington to Humphreys, 14 Jan. 1784; Washington to president of Con-

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EDITORIAL NOTE Washington for a "general Certificate of . . . Services and character" or but a single line to show that he presented to him the golden eagle of the Cincinnati, and again Washington complied. 28 Immediately on learning of his appointment, Humphreys applied to Robert Morris for the sword that Congress had voted for him. Humphreys later recalled that Morris had informed him "verbally that he would take the necessary arrangements for procuring all the honourary presents which had been directed to be given to different officers during the late war"; that Morris requested him to have them executed in Europe; and that "some time after" his arrival he had received "a letter and list of medals, etc., and a description of those intended for General Morgan and Colonels Washington and Howard."29 But Morris' letter of 15 June 1784, which showed that he had procured from the war office a "Return of honorary Rewards to Officers . . . still due," was written in Philadelphia a month before Humphreys sailed from New York and was in response to a written communication. The enclosed list has not been found, but it should have included the names of the officers entitled to swords-among them Humphreys-and of those whose medals were "still due": Washington, Gates, Wayne, Stewart, Lee, Morgan, William A. Washington, Howard, and Greene. The medals and swords, Morris wrote, could best be executed in Europe and he requested Humphreys to have this done "as speedily as may be" and the complded articles shipped directly to the secretary at war. Morris was careful also to stipulate that Humphreys should "have all these articles executed agreeably to the Resolutions of Congress." These, he added, could be obtained from the journals. so These instructions must have been received by Humphreys before he left New York or soon after he arrived in Paris. There, according to his later report, he at once made inquiries of informed persons, consulted "some of the first artists," and was advised to apply to the Abbe Barthelemy, who urged him to appeal to the Academie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. 31 In this report Humphreys seems almost studiously to have avoided reference to the aid that Franklin must certainly have given him. As one of Humphreys' gress, 14 Jan. 1784: Humphreys to president of Congress, 26 Jan. and 2 Apr. 1784; same, I, 293-5: :rcc, xxvn, 375. 28 Humphreys to Washington, 18 May 1784: Washington to Humphreys, 2 June 1784: Humphreys, Humphreys, I, 302-3, 305. This delay may have been affected also by the fact that Franklin had recommended his grandson, William Temple Franklin. The "only answer I receiv'd," he later said, "was a Resolution superceding him, and appointing Col. Humphreys in his Place: a Gentleman, who tho' he might have indeed a good deal of military Merit, certainly had none in the Diplomatic Line, and had neither tlte French Language, or the experience or the Address, proper to qualify him, in preference for such an Employment" (Franklin to Charles Thomson, 29 Dec. 1788: DLC: Thomson Papers). 29 Humphreys to president of Congress, 18 Mch. 1785: Loubat, Medallic history, I, xii-xiii. 30 Morris to Humphreys, 15 June 1784: Humphreys, Humphreys, I, 324. Humphreys sailed on the Courier de l'Europe on 15 July 1784. 31 Humphreys to president of Congress, 18 Mch. 1785: Loubat, Medallic history, I, xii-xiii. See note 28 concerning Franklin's opinion of Humphreys.

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AMERICAN MEDALS 1789 superiors, Franklin knew that the question of striking medals was in agitation; suggested that after "one silver or gold medal is struck from the dies, for the person to be honoured, they may be usefully employed in striking copper money, or in some cases small silver"; and, indeed, according to Humphreys' own account, made the same suggestion to him in conversation. 32 It must have been Franklin who gave Humphreys the names of Duvivier, Gatteaux, and Dupre, and it was probably he who sent him to the Abbe Barthelemy. It is all the more astonishing, therefore, that, in making his report to Congress, Humphreys should have made the casual and equivocal statement: ''The medals voted for the capture of Stony Point have been, or I believe may be, all struck from the die originally engraved to furnish one of them for Colonel de Fleury."31 If the medals for Wayne and Stewart had been struck, Franklin or Duvivier could have informed him of the fact. If they had not been struck, Humphreys' orders required him to see that it be done. He later declared, in a letter to the American Museum, that "dyes [had] formerly been engraved, under the direction of Dr. Franklin" for these medals. 38 This public statement also carried the assertion that Humphreys had contracted with artists in Paris to execute the medals voted by Congress during the war, implying clearly that he had done so for all that had been authorized. But Humphreys never discharged that part of his responsibility concerning the Stony Point medals. Indeed, he gave no instructions concerning them to Jefferson, who was left to discover as best he could that they had never been struck. Duvivier probably informed him, and Jefferson promptly had the work executed in 1789. Another lapse in the execution of Morris' instructions to Humphreys is even more puzzling. While Humphreys applied to the Academie Royale in the spring of 1785 for their "advice and sentiments" respecting the devices and inscriptions for the medals to be presented to Washington, Gates, and Greene, he did not solicit advice concerning the medals voted for Morgan, Howard, and William A. Washington. His reason for this, as he explained to Congress, was that he was advised-possibly by the Abbe Barthelemy-that the "description of the medals for Genl. Morgan &c. was not in the style and manner in which such medals were usually executed." He therefore suspended the execution of these medals until he could learn whether it was "the pleasure of Congress to have them performed exactly in the manner prescribed." If so, he requested more particular information of "the numbers on both sides, of the killed, wounded, prisoners, trophies, etc."34 The committee to whom Congress referred this letter did "not deem it expedient to suggest any alteration in the directions . . . given for procuring" the medals and directed the secretary at war so to inform Humphreys.85 Presumably this information was given to Humphreys, 82 Franklin to Jay, 10 May 1785; same, I, xiv-xv; Humphreys in American Museum, II (Nov. 1787),494. 83 American Museum, II (Nov. 1787),494-5. 84 Humphreys to president of Congress, 18 Mch. 1785; Loubat, Medallic history, I, xii -xiii. 35 ;rcc, XXVIII, 412.

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EDITORIAL NOTE for he applied to the Academie Royale on 25 Nov. 1785 requesting designs for the three Cowpens medals, apparently without any restriction or requirement that the numbers and casualties be represented on that for Morgan. The designs were promptly composed. 86 Yet, when he left for America in the spring of 1786, Humphreys informed Jefferson that that medal could not be executed "without farther information of the numbers killed, prisoners &c." and he promised to obtain this information from the secretary at war.81 He complied with this promise as soon as he landed in America by writing Henry Knox and suggesting that the information be supplied. s8 But it is surprising that he should have done so. For the fact is that Morris' instructions obliged him to follow the resolutions as set forth in the journals, the Academy's compositions as requested by him were not in conflict with those resolutions, the report of the committee on Humphreys' letter evidently assumed that these were the orders being followed, and the medals as finally executed under Jefferson's supervision were in similar accord. The most plausible explanation is that Humphreys was misled by a clerical error. The list that Morris had supplied him included "a description of those intended for General Morgan and Colonels Washington and Howard."89 This description was presumably a clerk's transcript of the committee report that Congress had rejected in that part which Humphreys continued to insist upon. But Morris' orders in the covering letter were explicit and controlling. Even without these, the journals should have been for Humphreys-as, of course, they were for Jefferson laterthe governing authority for determining the intent of Congress. At the same time that Humphreys requested designs for the three Cowpens medals he entered into contracts with Augustin Dupre and Nicolas Gatteaux to cut the dies for the Greene and Gates medals that had been designed by the Academy six months earlier.40 The obvious reason for this sudden activity concerning the medals late in 1785 was that Humphreys' duties as secretary to the American commissioners had come virtually to an end and he was about to set out for London, where he would spend thf: next few months. Gustavus B. Wallace to TJ, 20 Apr. 1790; Adam Stephen to TJ, 25 Apr. 1790; Carrington to TJ, 27 Mch. 1790. 8

4

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EDITORIAL NOTE was advanced under Hamilton's protection just as the earlier "settlement" had been. Maclay in the senate called the baron's bill a "perversion of reason, perversion of right," and would not have granted a farthing because he felt, with better justice than he knew, that Steuben had long since been amply compensated. The contest between what Maclay called Hamilton's tools and the independent part of the senate ended in the grant of a pension to the Prussian almost equal to the sum of all of the pensions established under the previous government. But the resultant public outcry was so vociferous that Hamilton felt obliged to defend his own course in sheltering the claim. 6 His anxiety for justice to this persistent claimant, however, seemed to many to displaya favoritism that stood in sharp contrast to the secretary's apparent slowness in paying the arrearages due old soldiers and their widows. This feeling was sharply reflected in the resolutions reported by the committee. As reported, the first resolution included the soldiers of the South Carolina line along with those of the two states to the northward, but this addition was later struck out.7 The committee report provided: (1) that the president be requested to transmit to the governors of the states a complete list of officers and privates who were entitled to arrears, annexing thereto the sums due each individual and requesting the governors to make known "in the most effectual manner" that such arrears would be discharged on proper application; (2) that the president be requested to cause the secretary of the treasury to take the necessary steps for effecting payment out of the appropriation voted by Congress 29 Sep. 1789; and (3) that the secretary of the treasury, in cases where payment had not been made "to the original claimant in person, or to his representative, be directed to take order for making the payment to the original claimant, or to such person or persons only who shall produce a power of attorney, duly attested by two Justices of the Peace ... authorizing him or them to receive a certain specified sum." Obviously, the target had been more precisely defined and the barb sharpened, especially in the second resolution. Bland had not hinted at the office wherein the surreptitious copy of lists of soldiers' names had been obtained and made available to speculators. He had not, indeed, so much as mentioned the secretary of the treasury or his department. Now, however, the resolutions implied that Hamilton had been dilatory in making payment of funds appropriated eight months earlier-appropriated not for an estimated total, but to cover particular warrants already issued to regimental paymasters for sums specified in each instance in the secretary's own report. s The point was underscored when the committee substituted for Bland's allusion to an act 6 On Steuben's earlier settlement, see Vols. 7: 100-101, note, and 11: 494, note. Hamilton had recommended a lump sum and a pension, but the former was struck out and a persion of $2,500 granted; Annals, II, 1572, 1584, 1602, 1606, 1610; m, 1291; (N.Y.) Daily Advertiser, 11 Aug. 1790; Maclay, Journal, ed. Maclay, p. 216, 256, 21;5, 266, 269, 271-6, 283. Hamilton sought Washington's support for Steuben's claim (Hamilton, Works, ed. Lodge, IX, 413, 425). 7 Probably this was done by the senate; annals, II, 1635-6, 1641. 8 Gazette of the United States, 28 Nov. 1789; note 1 above.

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ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790 of the preceding Congress the precise date on which it was passed. It was still further emphasized when the committee recommended that the president be requested to require his secretary to carry out the mandate. On a later date such a frontal attack would be interpreted by Hamilton and his supporters in Congress as the equivalent of a request to the president to ask for his resignation. On this occasion, however, Hamilton chose to ignore the challenge. The third resolution was the one that evoked the most intense opposition in the house, in the senate, and in the opinion that Hamilton drafted urging Washington to veto the measure. The principal objection to this was twofold. In the first place, Bland had called for the attesting of the claim to be made under the same procedures employed in the case of invalid pensioners: that is to say, by certification on the part of the district federal courts. By transferring this duty to justices of the peace, the committee's resolution emphasized the importance of attestations procured in the vicinity of the claimant and it may have carried incipient partisan implications as well, since the district courts were all occupied by federalists. In the second place, the committee's resolution called for the designation of the exact sum to be paid, whereas Bland's proposition had not. The intent of the third resolution was thus quite plain: so far as possible, it was intended to prevent a fraud practised on innocent persons. In the house a motion was made to commit it in order that a bill might be brought in, but this effort was defeated. In the senate where the contest over this resolution was hard-fought, Maclay declared that it was merely "directory to our own officer [the secretary of the treasury], and had nothing to do with the proceedings of courts. Soldiers had entered into contracts, the resolves . . . defaced writings or tore the seals from obligations." Any amendment to eliminate the sum to be paid, the place of payment, and the manner of attestation, he declared, was merely a modification to protect those engaged in "the late speculation." Such was the expression that Maclay employed in the summary of his own remarks in the senate, but in his diary he added a flat assertion that "the most villain . . us and abandoned speculation took place last winter from the treasury." Neither Maclay's emphasis nor his allusion to the legislative power to tear tbe seals from contracts was likely to convert senators to his position. For it is clear that the argument he was contending against in the senate was in essence that of Hamilton: that is, that if fraud had entered into the contract, the proper redress lay with the courts. Indeed, the issue was almost lost in the senate, for the final vote on the amendment was evenly divided. Adams broke the tie. For once, Maclay said, "our Vice-President voted right, and gave it against the amendment. ''9 The dilemma that Adams had faced was only transferred to the president when the opinions of Hamilton and Jefferson came to him. Hamilton chose to assume that Congress had acted upon "vague suggestions, loose reports ... and problematical testimony." He thought it probable that in some cases "undue advantages had been taken." But 9

Maclay, Journal, ed. Maclay, p. 268, 269-70.

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EDITORIAL NOTE in his opinion this scarcely justified legislative interposition which contravened public faith, was retroactive in application, and invaded the contractual rights of individuals. This was a spirit that had produced the constitutional injunction against the impairment of contracts, a provision that had been not least among the things recommending the Constitution to "the more enlightened part of the community." As Hamilton knew very well, this was a spirit that Washington abhorred, and in a powerful passage the secretary pointed to the intermeddlings with priv'ate contracts by state legislatures in the years preceding that had been "extensively felt, and seriously lamented." Faced with an implied but grave legislative impugning of his own conduct, Hamilton chose to attack Congress rather than defend himself. With characteristic audacity he implied that the measure was only a stab in the dark, based on insubstantial foundations. If there was an instance of fraud, he assumed it to be between private individuals whose rights could be ascertained only by the judiciary. The inference that this had been made possible through collusion or fraud in his own department whereby some individuals obtained advance information he declined to draw, ignoring it altogether. His attack was centered upon the nature of the third' resolution. Its provisions, he declared, were "at variance with the rules of property, the dictates of equity, and the maxims of good government." His powerful argument rested at last upon those "great principles that constitute the foundations of property." Washington must have been given pause as he read this almost persuasive argument, supported as it was by the adroit political suggestion that a veto could scarcely be over-ridden and that a salutary example might be set without offending more than a small part of the community. He, too, cherished principles designed to protect the sanctity of contracts, and he was also disposed to respect the legislative will. But something in the nature of the dilemma caused him to turn to Jefferson for further advice. 10 As the second paragraph of his opinion proves, Jefferson had the advantage of Hamilton: the opinion of the secretary of the treasury was in his hands when he composed his own. His argument is not an independent analysis of the resolutions, but a direct rebuttal of that of Hamilton. It has been described as resting upon a narrow legal theory to the effect that the conveyance of a debt not in possession is void, a doctrine that "had never been adopted in equity."l1 This is a misconstruction. In the first place, the question whether the doctrine had been incorporated in the principles of equity is irrelevant. Jefferson argued that such a conveyance was invalid under Virginia law, not at equity. Second, the essence of his argument was its denial of Hamilton's assertion that the resolutions were retroactive in effect. All else was mere 10 There is no written request from Washington for an opinion either in the case of Hamilton or in that of TJ; certain expressions in Hamilton's opinion lead to the supposition that he may have originated the statement on his own initiative, just as on other occasions both men did. See note 12 below; also, note to Document I. 11 The comment is that of Hamilton's editor: Hamilton, Works, ed. Lodge, n, 527, note.

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ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790 proof to show that they were not. Each man rested his case on broad principle, but Jefferson confined himself to proving that Hamilton had misconceived the applicability of one principle on which both were agreed. As to the remedy for such frauds as may have existed, Hamilton placed the burden for seeking redress upon the original claimant, Jefferson upon the assignee. This symbolic clash must be viewed in two related but differing contexts. On the elevated plane at which these two diametrically opposed views were expressed to the president in the hope of converting him to one or the other position, the episode may be regarded as a genuine discussion of principles of law and government. In this light each man revealed in characteristic terms his ingrained attitudes toward the problems of state. But the discussion, of course, was not carried on in a vacuum. The manner of employing power was at stake, and thus the full meaning of the two documents here presented can be grasped only when related to the realities that produced them. An examination of them in that context, in all of its causes and ramified consequences, has never been made with an effort to apply systematic, critical analysis to the pertinent evidence. Because of the plain tendency of this evidence, such an examination cannot be avoided. But to present at this point the tortuous unwinding of the evidence would create as serious a distortion as if it were omitted altogether. It would magnify the lesser context so much as to obscure the meaning of the two documents in their more abstract but more important matrix. The discussion of this evidence will therefore be relegated to an appendix in the next volume. Here, however, Washington's significant silence must be noted. It can scarcely be supposed that he was persuaded to approve the resolutions solely by Jefferson's technical argument and by a general disinclination to use the veto power. For the case presented to him by the secretary of state amounted almost to a challenge to ask for further proof of the alleged frauds. Whereas Hamilton had dismissed the allegations as being based on rumor or suspicion, Jefferson began his statement as a lawyer would, with an unadorned, unqualified presentation of what he regarded as established facts that had formed the basis of legislative action. Unlike Hamilton, who had chosen not to note what Congress had clearly implied, Jefferson pointed not so much to alleged frauds between individuals as to evidence of collusion in an office of the administration. He did not present it as inference but as fact that, through some instrumentality of the administration, lists of names of soldiers and of the sums due them had become "known to certain persons before the souldiers themselves had information of it." This was the essential point that Jefferson placed at the very beginning of his statement of the case, and it was a point that Hamilton had wholly ignored. From this platform he launched an argument intended to win the president's support for a measure whose object was both to prevent such abuses and to serve as a warning against official laxness or worse. His argument ended with a statement embracing both aims. It could scarcely have been put in stronger words: "it is honorable to enforce a salutary principle of law, when a relinquishment of it is sollicited only to support a

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EDITORIAL NOTE fraud."12 The obvious intent of this remarkable passage was not merely to convey to the president that Jefferson knew fraud to exist, but also to manifest his belief that Hamilton himself knew it-indeed, that this was the sole reason for the request that the veto power be exercised. Washington could scarcely have avoided grasping the meaning of the very precise words. He pondered the two opinions for four days and then affixed his signature of approval, breaking a resolute tie precisely as Adams had done in the senate. The record is silent concerning Washington's own view of the episode. But he must have realized that the secretary of state, employing a strategy no less bold than Hamilton's, had transformed the question over the exercise of the veto power into one about the countenance presumed to have been given to collusion in a government office. Had the secretary of the treasury knowingly sheltered such an abuse in his department in a way that touched the public honor? Did the secretary of state possess proofs of the facts that he so confidently stated, of the hint so clearly expressed? Washington must have been deeply troubled by the possibility of a public airing of this divisive conflict in his administration, with the dangerous consequences that might flow from them should a scandal be uncovered in government. This was no time, as Hamilton had suggested, to bring matters of perplexity or anxiety to the front: the assumption of state debts and the residence question were approaching a critical juncture. In the face of the dilemma, Washington maintained silence-a silence arguing eloquently that he feared his secretary of state was not engaged in making irresponsible assertions. There is no evidence that Hamilton initiated an investigation or that Washington asked for one. A few months earlier Hamilton had declined to answer an inquiry from Henry Lee on the ground that it might have been improper for him to do so. He added: "But you remember the saying with regard to Caesar's wife. I think the spirit of it applicable to every man concerned in the administration of the finance of a country. With respect to the conduct of such men, 8u8picion is ever eagle-eyed. And the most innocent things are apt to be misinterpreted."18 Later he would react promptly and proudly to clear himself of any action by the legislature that implied "a supposition that there has been undue delay or negligence on the part of the Secretary of the Treasury."14 Bland's resolutions as revised by the committee had implied such a supposition, and the incident of "inconsiderable magnitude" might have been confined to that dimension had he or the administration taken the path to which those resolutions and Jefferson's opinion pointed. This was not done, and the ultimate significance of the episode for Hamilton could only be multiplied. Thus the first cabinet conflict was in truth symbolic and, for him, tragic. For the solution he chose at last was not an escape 12 TJ's careful phraseology here also tends to support the supposition advanced in note 10; indeed it is the strongest reason for giving credence to that supposition. Nonnally, it is probable that he would have employed some such expression as ''urged'' or "advanced"; here the choice of "solicited" seems to carry the mean· ing that the secretary of the treasury had initiated a request. 18 Hamilton to Lee, 1 Dec. 1789; Hamilton, Works, ed. Lodge, IX, 465. 14 Hamilton to the Senate, 22 Feb. 1793; same, x, 61.

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ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790 from the dilemma but only a closing of the door to rational discussion. This is another reason for relegating an analysis of the second context of the two opinions to another place. 15 At this juncture Hamilton was in desperate need of Jefferson's support in the matter of assumption of state debts. He could not well afford to take umbrage at Congress for what had been implied. The fact is that Jefferson possessed another advantage over Hamilton in this initial encounter. Had Washington requested it, he could have supported the strong allegations made in his opinion.

I. The Opinion of Alexander Hamilton Treasury Department May 28th. 1790. The Secretary of the Treasury conceives it to be his duty most respectfully to represent to the President of the United States, that there are in his judgment, objections of a very serious and weighty nature to the resolutions of the two Houses of Congress of the twenty-first instant, concerning certain arrears of pay, due to the Officers and soldiers of the Lines of Virginia and North Carolina. The third of these resolutions directs, that in cases where payment has not been made to the original Claimant in person, or to his representative, it shall be made to the original Claimant, or to such person or persons only, as shall produce a power of Attorney, duly attested by two Justices of the Peace of the County, in which such person or persons reside, authorizing him or them to receive a certain specified sum. By the Law of most, if not all the States, claims of this kind are in their nature assignable for a valuable consideration; and the assignor may constitute the assignee his attorney or Agent, to receive the amount. The import of every such assignment is a Contract, express or implied, on the part of the assignor, that the assignee shall receive the sum assigned to his own use. In making it no precise form is necessary, but any instrument competent to conveying with clearness and precision the sense of the parties, suffices; There is no need of the co-operation of any Justice of the Peace or other Magistrate whatever. The practice of the Treasury and of the public officers in other Departments, in the adjustment and satisfaction of Claims upon the United States, has uniformly corresponded with the rules of that Law. 15

See Appendix in the next volume.

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I. OPINION OF HAMILTON

A regulation, therefore, having a retrospective operation, and prescribing, with regard to past transactions, new and unknown requisites, by which the admission of Claims is to be guided, is an infraction of the rights of Individuals, acquired under pre-existing Laws, and a contravention of the public faith, pledged by the course of public proceedings. It has consequently a tendency not less unfriendly to public credit, than to the security of property. Such is the regulation contain'd in the resolution above referred to. It defeats all previous assignments not accompanied with a Power of Attorney attested by two Justices of the peace of the County where the Assignor resides; a formality which, for obvious reasons cannot be presumed to have attended any of them, and which does not appear to have been observed, with respect to those, upon which applications for payment have hitherto been made. It is to be remarked, that the assignee has no method of compelling the Assignor to perfect the transfer by a new instrument, in conformity to the rule prescribed; if even the existence of such a power, the execution of which would involve a legal controversy, could be a satisfactory cause for altering by a new Law that state of things which antecedent law and usage had established between the parties. It is perhaps, too questionable, whether an assignee, however equitable his pretensions were, could, under the operation of the provision, which has been recited, have any remedy whatever for the recovery of the money or value which he may have paid to the Assignor. It is not certain, that a Legislative act decreeing payment to a different person, would not be a legal bar; but if the existence of such a remedy were certain, it would be but a very inconclusive consideration. The assignment may have been a security for a precarious or desperate Debt, which security will be wrested from the Assignee; or it may have been a composition between an insolvent Debtor and his Creditor, and the only resource of the latter; or the assignor may be absent and incapable either of benefiting by the provision, or of being called to an account: And in every case the Assignee would be left to the casualty of the ability of the assignor to repay; to the perplexity, trouble and expense of a suit at law. In respect to the soldiers, the presumption would be, in the greater number of cases, that the pursuit of redress would be worse than acquiescence in the loss. To vary the risks of parties; to supersede the contracts between them; to tum over a creditor, without his consent, from one Debtor to another, to take away a right to a specific thing, leaving only the chance of a remedy for [463 ]

ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790

retribution are not less positive violations of property, than a direct confiscation. It appears from the debates in the house of representatives, and it may be inferred from the nature of the proceeding, that a suggestion of fraud has been the occasion of it. Fraud is certainly a good objection to any Contract, and where it is properly ascertained, invalidates it. But the power of ascertaining it, is the peculiar province of the Judiciary Department. The principles of good Government conspire with those of justice to place it there. 'Tis there only, that such an investigation of the fact can be had, as ought to precede a decision. 'Tis there only, the parties can be heard and evidence on both sides produced; without which surmise must be substituted to Proofs, and Conjecture to fact. This, then, is the dilemma incident to Legislative interference. Either the Legislature must erect itself into a Court of Justice and determine each case upon its own merits, after a full hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties; or it must proceed upon vague suggestions, loose reports, or at best upon partial and problematical testimony, to condemn, in the gross and in the dark, the fairest and most unexceptionable claims, as well as those which may happen to be fraudulent and exceptionable. The first wou'd be an usurpation of the JUdiciary authority, the last is at variance with the rules of property, the dictates of Equity and the Maxims of good government. All admit the truth of these positions as general rules. But, when a departure from it is advocated for any particular purpose, it is usually alledged that there are exceptions to it; that there are certain extraordinary cases, in which the public good demands and justifies an extraordinary interposition of the Legislature. This doctrine in relation to extraordinary cases is not to be denied; but it is highly important that the nature of those cases shou'd be carefully distinguished. It is evident that every such interposition, deviating from the usual course of Law and Justice, and infringing the established rules of property, which ought, as far as possible to be held sacred and inviolable, is an overleaping of the ordinary and regular bounds of Legislative discretion; and is in the nature of a resort to first principles. Nothing, therefore, but some urgent public necessity, some impending national Calamity, something that threatens direct and general mischief to Society, for which there is no adequate redress in the established course of things, can, it is presumed, be a sufficient cause for the employment of so extraordinary a [464 ]

I. OPINION OF HAMILTON

remedy. An accommodation to the interests of a small part of the community, in a case of inconsiderable magnitude, on a national scale, cannot, in the judgment of the Secretary, be entitled to that character. If partial inconveniences and hardships occasion legislative interferences in private contracts, the intercourses of business become uncertain, the security of property is lessened, the confidence in government destroyed or weakened. The constitution of the United States interdicts the States individually from passing any law impairing the obligation of contracts. This, to the more enlightened part of the community, was not one of the least recommendations of that Constitution. The too frequent intermeddlings of the State Legislatures, in relation to private contracts, were extensively felt, and seriously lamented; and a Constitution which promised a preventive, was, by those who felt and thought in that manner, eagerly embrac'd. Precedents of similar interferences by the Legislature of the United States cannot fail to alarm the same class of persons, and at the same time to diminish the respect of the State legislatures for the interdiction alluded to. The example of the National Government in a matter of this kind may be expect'd to have a far more powerful influence, than the precepts of its Constitution. The present case is that of a particular class of Men, highly meritorious indeed, but inconsiderable in point of numbers, and the whole of the property in question less than fifty thousand Dollars, which, when distributed among those who are principally to be benefited by the regulation, does not exceed twenty five Dollars per man. The relief of the Individuals, who may have been subjects of imposition, in so limited a case, seems a very inadequate cause for a measure which breaks in upon those great principles, that constitute the foundations of property. The eligibility of the measure is more doubtful, as the Courts of Justice are competent to the relief, which it is the object of the resolution to give, as far as the fact of Fraud, or imposition, or undue advantage can be substantiated. It is true that many of the Individuals would probably not be in a condition to seek that relief from their own resources; but the aid of government may in this respect, be afforded in away, which will be consistent with the established order of things.-The Secretary, from the information communicated to him, believing it to be probable that undue advantages had been taken, had conceived a plan for the purpose, of the following kind: That measures shou'd be adopted for procuring [465 ]

ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790 the appointment of an Agent, or Attorney by the original Claimants, or if deceased, by their legal representatives; that payment of the money should be deferred, until this had been effected; that the amount of the sums due should then be placed in the hands of the proper Officer for the purpose of payment; that a demand should be made upon him, on behalf of the original claimants by their agent; and as a like demand would of course be made by the assignees, that the parties should be informed that a legal adjudication was necessary to ascertain the validity of their respective pretensions; and that in this state of things the Attorney general should be directed either to prosecute or defend for the original claimants, as should appear to him most likely to ensure justice.-A step of this kind appeared to the Secretary to be warranted and dictated, as well by a due regard to the defenceless situation of the parties, who may have been prejudiced, as by considerations resulting from the propriety of discouraging similar practices. It is with reluctance and pain, that the Secretary is induced to make this representation to the President. The respect which he entertains for the decisions of the two Houses of Congress; the respect which is due to those movements of humanity, towards the supposed sufferers, and of indignation against those who are presumed to have taken an undue advantage; an unwillingness to present before the mind of the President, especially at the present juncture, considerations which may occasion perplexity or anxiety, concur in rendering the task peculiarly unwelcome: Yet the principles which appear to the Secretary to have been invaded, in this instance, are, in his estimation, of such fundamental consequence to the stability, character and success of the government, and at the same time so immediately interesting to the department intrusted to his care, that he feels himself irresistibly impelled by a sense of Duty, as well to the Chief Magistrate as to the community, to make a full communication of his impressions and reflections. He is sensible, that an inflexible adherence to the principles contended for must often have an air of rigor, and will sometimes be productive of particular inconveniencies. The general rules of property, and all those general rules which form the links of society, frequently involve in their ordinary operation particular hardships and injuries; yet the public order and the general happiness require a steady conformity to them. It is perhaps always better, that partial evils should be submitted to, than that principles should be violated. In the infancy of our present Government, peculiar strictness and circumspection are called for, by the too [466 ]

I. OPINION OF HAMILTON

numerous instances of relaxations, which in other quarters, and on other occasions, have discredited our Public measures. The Secretary is not unaware of the delicacy of an opposition to the resolutions in question, by the President, shou'd his view of the subject coincide with that of the Secretary; yet he begs leave on this point to remark, that such an opposition in a Case in which a small part of the Community only is directly concerned, would be less likely to have disagreeable consequences than in one which shou'd affect a very considerable portion of it: and the prevention of an ill precedent, if it be truly one, may prove a decisive obstacle to other cases of greater extent and magnitude and of a more critical tendency. If the objections are as solid as they appear to the Secretary, to be, he trusts, they cannot fail, with the sanction of the President, to engage the approbation, not only of the generality of considerate men, but of the community at large. And if momentary dissatisfaction should happen to exist in particular parts of the union, it is to be hoped, that it will be speedily removed by the measures which under the direction of the President may be pursued for obtaining the same end in an unexceptionable mode, for the success of which the Secretary will not fail to exert his most zealous endeavours. It is proper, that the President should be informed, that if objections should be made by him, they will, in all probability, be effectual, as the resolutions passed in the Senate with no greater majority than twelve to ten. The Secretary feels an unreserved confidence in the justice and magnanimity of the President, that, whatever may be his view of the subject, he will at least impute the present representation to an earnest and anxious conviction, in the mind of the Secretary, of the truth and importance of the principles which he supports, and of the inauspicious tendency of the measure to which he objects, co-operating with a pure and ardent zeal for the public good, and for the honor and prosperity of the administration of the Chief Magistrate. All which is humbly submitted (sign'd) ALExR. HAMII,.TON Secretary of the Treasury Tr (DLC: Washington Papers); in a clerk's hand. There can be little doubt that Hamilton advanced this opinion on his own initiative. Twice he spoke of being prompted to do so by duty: he was,

indeed, ''irresistibly impelled by a sense of Duty, as well to the Chief Magistrate, as to the Community" to state his objections to the resolutions. It is scarcely possible that he would have employed such forceful language if he had been

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ARREARAGES IN SOLDIERS' PAY 1790 responding to a request of the president.-Hamilton erred in thinking that the resolutions passed both houses on 21 May 1790. The resolutions passed the lower house on 17 May, were

adopted by the senate, after amendment, on 21 May, and were agreed to by the house as amended on 24 May 1790 (JS, 79-81; Annals, n, 1636, 1641).

II. The Opinion of Thomas Jefferson June S. 1790. The accounts of the souldiers of Virginia and North Carolina having been examined by the proper officer of government, the balances due to each individual ascertained, and a list of these balances made out, this list became known to certain persons before the souldiers themselves had information of it, and those persons, by unfair means, as is said, and for very inadequate considerations obtained assignments from many of the souldiers1 of whatever sum should be due to them from the public without specifying the amount. The legislature, to defeat this fraud, passed resolutions on the 21st. of May 1790. directing that, where paiment had not been made to the original claimant in person, or his representatives, it shall be made to him or them personally, or to their attorney producing a power for that purpose, attested by two justices of the county where he resides, and specifying the certain sum he is to recieve. It has been objected to these resolutions that they annul transfers of property which were good by the laws under which they were made; that they take from the assignees their lawful property; are contrary to the principles of the constitution, which condemn retrospective laws; and are therefore not worthy of the President's approbation. I agree in an almost unlimited condemnation of retrospective laws. The few instances of wrong which they redress are so overweighed by the insecurity they draw over all property, and even over life itself, and by the atrocious violations of both to which they lead, that it is better to live under the evil than the remedy. The only question I shall make is Whether these resolutions annul acts which were valid when they were done? This question respects the laws of Virginia and North Carolina only. On the latter I am not qualified to decide, and therefore beg leave to confine myself to the former. By the Common law of England (adopted in Virginia) the conveyance of a right to a debt or other thing, whereof the party is not in possession, is not only void, but severely punisheable

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II. OPINION OF JEFFERSON

under the names of Maintenance and champerty. The Law-merchant however, which is permitted to have course between merchants, allows the assignment of a bill of exchange, for the convenience of commerce. This therefore forms one exception to the general rule that a mere right, or thing in action, is not assigneable. A 2d. exception has been formed by an English statute (copied into the laws of Virginia) permitting Promisory notes to be assigned. The laws of Virginia have gone yet further than the statute, and have allowed, as a 3d. exception, that a bond should be assigned, which cannot be done even at this day in England. So that in Virginia, when a debt has been settled between the parties, and put into the form of a bill of exchange, promisory note, or bond, the law admits it to be transferred by assignment. In all other cases, the assignment of a debt is void. The debts from the U.S. to the souldiers of Virginia not having been put into either of these forms, the assignments of them were void in law. A creditor may give an order on his debtor in favor of another. But if the debtor does not accept it, he must be sued in the creditor's name: which shews that the order does not transfer the property of the debt.-So the creditor may appoint another to be his attorney to recieve and recover his debt; and he may covenant that when recieved, the attorney may apply it to his own use. But he must sue as attorney to the original proprietor, and not in his own right. This proves that a power of attorney, with such a covenant, does not transfer the property of the debt. 2 -A further proof in both cases is that the original creditor may, at any time before paiment, or acceptance,S revoke either his order, or his power of attorney. In that event, the person in whose favor they were given has recourse to a court of equity. When there, asking equity, the judge examines whether he has done equity. If he finds his transaction has been a fair one, he gives him aid: if he finds it has been otherwise, not permitting his court to be made a handmaid to fraud, he leaves him without remedy in equity, as he was in law. The assignments in the present case therefore, if unfairly obtained, as seems to be admitted, are as void in equity as they are in law. And they derive their nullity from the laws under which they were made, not from the new resolutions of Congress. These are not retrospective: they only direct their treasurer not to give validity to an assignment which had it not before, by paiment to the assignee, until he in whom the legal property still is, shall order it in such a form as to shew he is apprised of the sum he is to part with, and it's readiness to be paid into his or any other hands and that he (469 ]

3 JUNE 1790 chuses notwithstanding to acquiesce under the fraud which has been practised on him. In that case he has only to execute, before two justices, a power of attorney to the same person, expressing the specific sum of his demand, and it is to be complied with. Actual paiment, in this case, is an important act. If made to the assignee, it would put the burthen of proof and process on the original owner. If made to that owner, it puts it on the assignee, who must then come forward and shew that his transaction has been that of an honest man. Government seems to be doing in this what every individual, I think, would feel himself bound to do in the case of his own debt. For being free in law to pay to the one or the other, he would certainly give the advantage to the party, who has suffered wrong, rather than to him who had committed it. It is not honorable to take a mere legal advantage when it happens to be contrary to justice. But it is honorable to enforce a salutary principle of law, when a relinquishment of it is sollicited only to support a fraud. I think the resolutions therefore merit approbation. I have before professed my incompetence to say what are the laws of North Carolina on this subject. They, like Virginia, adopted the English laws in the gross. These laws forbid in general the buying and selling of debts, and their policy in this is so wise, that I should presume they had not changed it, till the contrary be shewn. TH: JEFFERSON MS (CSmH); entirely in TJ's hand, except for the following endorsement in an nnidentified hand: "Resolutions respecting the pay of the Virga. &: No. Carola. Soldiers. Jnne 3d. 1790." PrC (DLC). FC (DNA: RG 59, SDC); varies from MS in spelling, capitalization, and pnnctuation, also in those parts note below. On the date of the

resolutions, see note to Document I. 1 At this point in MS, TJ deleted the words "on general terms." 2 The preceding three sentences are not in FC. 3 The preceding two words are not in FC.

To John Steele New York June 3d. 1790. There are in my office the proceedings of six States on the subject of the amendments proposed by Congress to the federal Constitution. These are the following 1. A vote of the Legislature of New Hampshire rejecting the second article of the said amendments, and accepting all the others. 2. An Act of the Legislature of New York intituled "an Act ratifying certain articles in addition to, and amendment of the SIR

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4 JUNE 1790 Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by the Congress" whereby they ratify all the said articles except the second. 3. An Act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania intituled "an Act declaring the assent of this State to certain amendments to the Constitution of the United States" wherein the first and second articles are passed over in silence, and all the others assented to. 4. A Resolution of the Legislature of Delaware postponing the first article, and acceding to all the others. 5. An Act of the Legislature of Maryland intituled "an Act to ratify certain articles in addition to, and amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America proposed by Congress to the Legislatures of the several States" ratifying all the said articles. 6. A Resolution of the Legislature of South Carolina, ratifying all the said Articles. So that it appears on the whole that the 1st. article is agreed to by four States the 2d. by three and all the others by six. No proceedings of any other States on this subject have been returned to my office. I have the honor to be with sentiments of great respect &c. FC (DNA: PCC, No. 120). Entry in SJL reads: "June S. Steele (of (Mary/d.) N. Carolina)." An undated memorandum in the hand of a clerk (Roger Alden), endorsed by TJ: "Steele. Ronble. John," gives the substance of this letter and was evidently used by T J in composing it (MoSRi). The memorandum contains three dates not utilized by TJ: the New York "Act ..• passed the Council of revision Feby. 27th. 1790"; the Pennsylvania statute was "Enacted into a Law March 11th. 1790"; and the Maryland statute was adopted "Deer. 19th. 1789." TJ's letter was in reply to one from Steele of 2 June 1790, reading: "A committee has been appointed to examine into, and report what order has been taken in the several states, upon the amendments to the Constitution, proposed by Congress

heretofore. This Committee request you to furnish any information from your Office, that may be necessary to enable us to report satisfactorily" (RC in MoSRi; recorded in SJL as received 2 June 1790). On 17 June 1790 Steele wrote TJ that he had received an Act of the North Carolina legislature ratifying the "whole of the articles of amendment proposed by Congress" (FC in DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 120). Steele was chairman of a committee appointed 27 May 1790 to "examine into and report the decisions of the several States" respecting the amendments formerly proposed; that part of the motion which authorized this committee to report "what other and further amendments" were necessary for Congress to recommend to the states was defeated (Hm, I, 225).

From Thomas Barclay New York 4 June 1790. I shall make no appology for the trouble I am going to give you,

DEAR SIR

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4 JUNE 1790 because I have the strongest sense of your disposition to serve me. I see by the papers that Commissioners for negociating the loans are going to be appointed for the different states in the Union, and, if it should be thought proper in all respects, I would be glad to discharge the duties of the office either in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania or Virginia, but I would prefer a situation in Pennsylvania or Virginia. I am uncertain whether an application to you on this subject be quite proper, if it is not you will have the goodness to excuse it from Dear Sir Your Most obedt. and most hum Servt., THOS BARCLAY

RC (DNA: RG 59, CD); endorsed as received 4 June 1790 and so recorded in

SJL.

To Jose Ignacio de Viar SIR New York June 4th. 1790. On the receipt of the letter of May 18th with which you honored me, I transmitted it to the Secretary of the Treasury for his information, and have now the honor to enclose you his answer with that of the Auditor. You will be pleased to observe, that certain explanations had been promised by Mr. Gardoqui after he should arrive in Spain, and it is believed that this promise was subsequent to the date of his letter of October 5th. 1789 to Mr. Jay, desiring payment to you. If these explanations are come to your hands, a final decision can be had at once; if they are not received and you chuse that the money should be paid, subject to a reallowance of it if those explanations should shew that that would be just, you will observe that the Secretary of the Treasury expresses his readiness to pay it. We are happy on this and every other occasion, to shew our respect for Mr. Gardoqui, and I beg leave to assure you at the same time of the sentiments of respect and esteem with which I have the honor to be &c., FC (DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 120). Enclosures: (1) Alexander Hamilton to TJ, 31 May 1790, enclosing auditor's report and adding: ''The promised ex· planations of the other accounts have not yet been transmitted to this office, but may be in the hands of Mr. Viar. Should that be the case, and should they clear up the uncertainties in the accounts to which they relate, the above balance will be discharged without hesi-

tation. IT however these explanations have not yet been received by Mr. Viar, and you find him solicitous for the balance abovementioned, I will take arrangements for its discharge" ( same; not recorded in SJL). (2) Oliver Wolcott to Alexander Hamilton, 28 May 1790, saying that he had examined the papers relating to the accounts of Joseph Gardoqui 8t Sons; that he was ''fully of opinion that the amount of

[472 ]

5 JUNE 1790 their account being 10,057 Rl. vellon 22 mars. . . • ought to be admitted to their credit"; that the "whole of their charges except for 1920 Rials vellon have been already admitted by Thomas Barclay, Esqr. Commissioner of foreign accounts, and are properly credited to them in his books"; and that on 8 Oct. 1789 James Gardoqui was furnished by the "late Accountant of the Treasury with statements of other accounts between the public and Messrs. Gardoqui & Sons, relative to which certain explanations were judged to be necessary" and for which purpose, so Wolcott was informed, he engaged to transmit to the secretary of the treasury complete transcripts of all their

accounts with the public; and that "H it shall be judged proper that the settlement of this account should proceed without waiting for any explanations relative to other accounts, the business shall be compleated immediately" (same). Viar'sletter of 18 May 1790 enclosed, in response to TJ's request, a copy of that from Gardoqui to Jay of 5 Oct. 1789: the latter authorized Viar to receive the sums advanced by Gardoqui to Jay and the American prisoners in Algiers (RC of former in DNA: RG 59, NL, endorsed by TJ as received 18 May 1790 and so recorded in SIL; accompanied by Tr of enclosure).

From William Short DEAR SIR Paris June the 5th. 1790 Dr. Bancroft being about to set off immediately for London I make use of his conveyance merely to send you the gazettes of France and Leyden, and journals of the national assembly, which have considerably accumulated in my hands for the want of some means of forwarding them to New-York. I shall add to them some other papers relative to the pension list and which are the continuation of those formerly sent to the Secretary of the treasury. This is the first letter that I have addressed to you as having the department of foreign affairs, not having been hitherto certain that you had accepted it. Letters by the English April packet gave this information to some American gentlemen at London and Paris from whom I have it. As soon as I learned this circumstance I supposed that my letters were detained a post later for the sake of being read, and counted on them without fail. The next post arrived here however two days ago without letters for me.-Supposing it impossible that I can be many days now without having the pleasure of hearing from you, I postpone writing further till then, and particularly as this letter being to be kept in London until some vessel may be found sailing for New-York, will probably arrive later than that which I shall next write. I will not add any thing here to what I have said in my former letters to you relative to myself. I feel that I have a greater difficulty in doing it from the moment I have been assured that you had accepted the office of Secretary of State.-All your friends here who have made so repeated and so fruitless enquiries about you [ 473}

6 JUNE 1790

express a real sorrow at being deprived of the pleasure of seeing you again. The family of la Rochefoucauld are among the foremost of them. I am every day embarassed beyond measure by the questions which are made me in publick relative to your successor. They all insist on offering me their compliments of congratulation. You will easily concieve in what an awkward situation this places me, and how happy I should have been to have heard something from you on the subject. I still hope that you had written to me before the departure of the English April packet although your letters have not yet come to my hands. I beg leave to congratulate you Sir on the marriage of your daughter. I hope you will readily believe that I partake as I ought to do in whatever contributes to your happiness.-Your friends in general here are all well. Mde. de Tesse is still in Switzerland. The Marquis de la fayette's popularity increases. The two La Meths, Bamave, Duport and La Borde have formed a separate party and are now his most violent enemies. They are not on speaking terms. I will give you an account of this in my next. Your friend & servant,

W

SHORT

HC (DLC); endorsed as received 12 Feb. 1791 and so recorded in (DLC: Short Papers).

SJL.

PrC

To Martha Jefferson Randol ph My DEAR DAUGHTER New York June 6.1790 Your favor of May 28. from Eppington came to me yesterday, with the welcome which accompanies ever the tidings I recieve from you. Your resolution to go to housekeeping is a good one, tho' I think it had better be postponed till the fall. You are not yet seasoned to the climate, and it would therefore be prudent not to go to a sickly position till the sickly season is over. My former letters to Mr. Randolph and yourself will have apprised you of the pleasure it will give me to see you fixed in Albemarle; and the wish to co-operate in this, and to effect it, will determine me to come to Virginia in September or October at all events. Till then I should think it better that you should take no measures for Varina which might be inconvenient.-The lower house of Congress have voted to remove to Philadelphia. It is thought the Senate will be equally divided on the question, and consequently that the decision will rest with the Vice-President. Were we to be removed there, I should be so much nearer to you. I had an attack of my [474 J

6 JUNE 1790

periodical head-ach, very violent for a few days. It soon subsided so as to be very slight. I am not quite clear of it now, tho I have been able to resume business for this week past. It can hardly be called a pain now, but only a disagreeable sensation of the head every morning. I am going tomorrow on a sailing party of three or four days with the President. Should we meet sea enough to make me sick I shall hope it will carry off the remains of my headach. Assure Mr. Randolph of my affectionate remembrance. I suppose Maria is not with you. Adieu my dear Daughter Your's affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON RC (NNP). PrC (MHi). Mrs. Randolph's letter of 28 May 1790, recorded in S.JL as received 5 June 1790, has not been found. That from Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. of 25 May 1790 was received the same day, announcing the decision respecting VARINA-but TJ did not reply to that letter until 20

June 1790, and even then in less emphatic terms than in the present. Thus, at the outset, gently but with undeniable force, began the tensions among three persons that, born of love, nevertheless influenced the course of their lives profoundly.

To William Short DEAR SIR New York June 6. 1790. Having written to you so lately as the 27th. of May by M. de Crevecoeur, I have little new to communicate. My head-ach still continues in a slight degree, but I am able to do business. Tomorrow I go on a sailing party of. three or four days with the President. I am in hopes of being relieved entirely by the sickness I shall probably encounter. The President is perfectly reestablished, and looks better than before his illness. The question of removal to Philadelphia was carried in the house of representatives by 38. against 22. It is thought the Senate will be equally divided and consequently that the decision will rest on the Vice president, who will be himself divided between his own decided inclinations to stay here, and the unpopularity of being the sole obstacle to what appears the wish of so great a majority of the people expressed by proportional representation. Rhodeisland has at length acceded to the Union by a majority of two voices only in their convention. Her Senators will be here in about 10. days or a fortnight. The opposers of removal in the Senate try to draw out time till their arrival. Therefore they have connected the resolution of the lower house with a bill originated with them to fix a permanent residence, and have referred both to the same committee.-Deaths are Colo. Bland at this place, and old Colo. Corbin in Virginia. The naming

[475 ]

7 JUNE 1790

a minister for Paris awaits the progress of a bill before the legislature. They will probably adjourn to the 1st. of December, as soon as they have got through the money business. The funding bill is passed, by which the President is authorised to borrow money for transferring our foreign debt. But the ways and means bill being not yet passed, the loan cannot be commenced till the appropriations of revenue are made, which is to give credit to the loan.-I hope before this reaches you, Petit and my affairs will be on their way. Whether it be so or not, be so good as to send me a pair of library steps, echelle de bibliotheque, such as were always to be seen at the Salle des ventes du Palais royal, for about SO.1t or 36.1t They fold up so as to be very portable. Remember me to all my friends, and be assured of the sincere esteem of Dear Sir Your affectionate friend & servt, TH: JEFFERSON De Moustier writes he is coming back. I can't believe it. He did not leave a single friend here. Say so under the rose to the Marquis Fayette. 1 RC (ViW); at head of text: "private"; partly in code, with interlinear decoding in Short's hand; endorsed as received 19 Oct. 1790. PrC (DLC).

1 This paragraph in code; Short's interlinear decoding has been verified by the editors, employing Code No. 10.

Recommendations for Federal Offices in North Carolina and the Southwestern Government North Carolina [Before 7 June 1790]

District Judge Colo. Davie is recommended by Steele. Hawkins sais he is their first law character. Brown sais the same. Samuel Spencer. Steele sais he is a good man, one of the present judges, not remarkeable for his abilities, but deserves well of his country. Bloodworth sais Spencer desires the appointment. But sais nothing of him. John Stokes. Steele names him at his own request. He is a Virginian, was [476 }

7 JUNE 1790

a Captain in the late war, lost his right hand in Beaufort's defeat. Practises law in S. Carolina with reputation and success; has been frequently of the legislature, was a member of the Convention, a federalist, is now a Colonel of militia cavalry, and additional judge of the Supreme court. Hawkins has understood he is a worthy man. Ashe names him. District attorney. Hamilton. Named by Bloodworth. Hawkins sais he is now under indictment for extortionate fees and will be silenced. Hay. Named by Bloodworth. Hawkins sais he is an Irishman who came over about the close of the war to see after some confiscated property. He has married in the country. Arnet. Named by Bloodworth. Hawkins sais he is a N. Jersey man of good character. Sitgreaves. 1 Hawkins sais he lives in Newbern where the courts are held. He is a gentlemanly man, and as good a lawyer as any there. 2 Ashe sais that Sitgreaves is not so brilliant in abilities, but of great rectitude of mind. Bloodworth sais that Sitgreaves is a gentleman of character and represented the state in Congress in 1785. South-Western government Governor. Blount. 1 Agreed to be the properest man by Williamson, Hawkins, Bloodworth and Ashe. Secretary. Howel Tatham. Williamson sais he was formerly a Continental officer, is now a lawyer, a man of honor and respectable abilities. Bloodworth names him, but sais nothing of him. Brown thinks him illy informed, and more a man of dress than of business. Robert Hayes. Bloodworth only mentions his name. Ashe. 3 Says he has been a representative several times, and an officer. [477 ]

7 JUNE 1790

Smith. Brown considers him as the ablest and best character there. Hawkins considers him as a very good and able man. He was a leading character in the opposition to Sevier, and so would not be a very agreeable appointment to Sevier. Judges. David Campbell. Brown thinks him not a well informed lawyer, but honest. He is now judge. Bloodworth and Ashe name him only. Williamson sais he is of fair character and respectable abilities Howel Tatham. See what is said of him above for Secretary. Ashe proposes him as a Judge, and sais he is of great application, fair and unblemished character. John Mc.Nairy.l Ashe only names him. Attorney. Edward Jones. Ashe proposes him. He has heard that he is a young gentleman of merit and enlightened understanding. Bloodworth sais he is of good character, has been twice returned for the town of Wilmington. MS (DLC: Applications for Office under Washington); entirely in TJ's hand; undated but docketed in Lear's hand: "From the Secretary of State June 7th. 1790." Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 10192); also in TJ's hand and undated, varying in phraseology but not in substance except in the instances noted below. This list of potential nominees was, of course, prepared before 7 June 1790, on which date Washington nominated the following: William R. Davie, judge, John Sitgreaves, attorney, and John Skinner, marshal of the district of North Carolina; and William Blount, governor, David Campbell and John McNairy, judges, and Daniel Smith, secretary of the Southwestern Territory. These nominations were approved the

next day. Davie declined and Washington on 17 Dec. 1790 nominated Sitgreaves as judge and William Hill as attorney, these nominations being approved on 20 Dec. 1790 (;rEP, I, 50, 63-4). TJ obviously had assembled the above opinions from members of the North Carolina delegation in Congress at Washington's request. He or perhaps Lear placed the check marks opposite the names indicated in note 1 below. 1 Opposite this name in MS is a check mark. 2 Dft reads: "Genteel man, and as good a lawyer as any or more. Hawk." 3 The following appears in Dft but not in MS: "Ashe proposes him for Secretary."

From James Monroe Fredbg. June 7. 1790.

DEAR SIR

I wrote you lately by Judge Wilson whom I accompanied to the circuit court at Charlottesville. I have since been to the chancery (478 ]

9 JUNE 1790

which clos'd as to business of consequence on Saturday. Our child who hath been dangerously ill hath so far recover'd as to admit of her removal home. We sit out thither tomorrow, where I shall remain untill the appeals about the 25th. This will be presented to you by Mr. Garnett a merchant of character and merit, in this town. Whilst a resident here, he was kind and attentive to me, and as a proof of my regard I have taken the liberty to make him known to you. Accept our best wishes for your health & believe me with great respect & esteem yr. afIectionatt friend & servant, JAS. MONROE RC (DLC); endorsed as received 7 July 1790 and so recorded in it is noted as delivered "(by Colo. Garnett)."

SJL,

where

From Thomas Walker Castle hill June 7. 1790 DEAR SIR I am at a loss how to proceed respecting a grant of 8000 acres of Land made under the regal government to your Father and myself on the western waters. It has been surveyed and the Plats &c. offered to the Register of the Land office several years ago. He refused to receive them, supposing he was not authorised to do so. Many people are anxious to purchase the land if we could make titles, some have lately located treasury warrants on part of the Land, thinking the grant of no consequence. My doubt is whether to petition the Assembly or commence a suit. If you have leisure to think of the subject and will be so good as to recommend a plan to obtain our right it shall be attended to and you will Oblige Your most obedient humble Servt., THOMAS WALKER RC (DLC); endorsed as received 19 June 1790 and so recorded in

SJL.

From Alexander Hamilton SIR Treasury Department June 9th. 1790 I have the honor to inform you, that in a few days, information furnished by the several Departments and otherwise collected, will be laid before the House of Representatives, for the purpose of obtaining appropriations of Money. As the expences &ca. of the Department of State will necessarily require an appropriation, I beg the favour of your directing information to be transmitted to me of the sum you may desire to be placed upon the list. [479 ]

11 JUNE 1790

You will oblige me by directing a return to be made to this office, from time to time, of such officers connected with the Revenue, as shall be hereafter appointed. Enclosed is a return of the persons appointed by the President of the United States to superintend certain Light houses therein mentioned, which, I presume, will be necessary to enable you to give the necessary directions about their Commissions. I have the honor to be, very respectfully Sir, Your obedient Servt., ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Secy of the Treasury RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); in a clerk's hand except for signature and accompanying title; endorsed. Not recorded in SJL.

To John Garland Jefferson New York June 11. 1790.

DEAR SIR

Your uncle Mr. Garland informs me, that, your education being now finished, you are desirous of obtaining some clerkship or something else under government whereby you may turn your talents to some account for yourself, and he had supposed it might be in my power to provide you with some such office. His commendations of you are such as to induce me to wish sincerely to be of service to you. But there is not, and has not been, a single vacant office at my disposal. Nor would I, as your friend, ever think of putting you into the petty clerkships in the several offices, where you would have to drudge through life for a miserable pittance, without a hope of bettering your situation. But he tells me you are also disposed to the study of the law. This therefore brings it more within my power to serve you. It will be necessary for you in that case to go and live somewhere in my neighborhood in Albemarle. The inclosed letter to Colo. Lewis near Charlottesville will shew you what I have supposed could be best done for you there. It is a general practice to study the law in the office of some lawyer. This indeed gives to the student the advantage of his instruction. But I have ever seen that the services expected in return have been more than the instructions have been worth. All that is necessary for a student is access to a library, and directions in what order the books are to be read. This I will take the liberty of suggesting to you, observing previously that as other branches of science, and especially history, are necessary to form a lawyer, these must be carried on together. I will arrange the books to be read into three [480 ]

11 JUNE 1790

columns, and propose that you should read those in the first column till 12. oclock every day; those in the 2d. from 12. to 2. those in the 3d. after candlelight, leaving all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading; I will rather say more necessary, because health is worth more than learning. 1st. 2d. Coke on Littleton Dalrymple's feudal system. Coke's 2d. 3d. &: 4th. in- Hale's history of the Com. stitutes. law. Coke's reports Gilbert on Devises. Vaughan's do. Uses. Tenures Salkeld's Ld. Raymond's Rents Strange's Distresses. Burrow's Ejectments Executions. Kaim's Principles of equity. Evidence. Vernon's reports. Sayer's law of costs. Peere Williams. Larnbard's eirenarchia Precedents in Chancery. Bacon voce Pleas &: PleadTracy Atkyns ings Vezey Cuningharn's law of bills. Molloy de jure maritimo. Hawkins's Pleas of the Locke on government. Montesquieu's Spirit of crown. laws. Blackstone. Virginia laws. Smith's wealth of nations. Beccaria. Kaim's moral essays. Vattel's law of nations

3d. Mallet's Northd. antiquits. History of England in 3. vols. folio compiled by Kennet. Ludlow's memoirs Burnet's history. Ld. Orrery's history. Burke's George III. Robertson's hist. of Scotld. Robertson's hist. of America other American histories Voltaire's historical works.

Should there be any little intervals in the day not otherwise occupied fill them up by reading Lowthe's grammar, Blair's lectures on rhetoric, Mason on poetic and prosaic numbers, Bolingbroke's works for the sake of the stile, which is declamatory and elegant, the English poets for the sake of style also. As Mr. Peter Carr in Goochland is engaged in a course of law reading, and has my books for that purpose, it will be necessary for you to go by Mrs. Carr's, and to receive such as he shall be then done with, and settle with him a plan of receiving from him regular[ly] the beforementioned books as fast as he shall be got through them. The losses I have sustained by lending my books will be my apology to you for asking your particular attention to the replacing them in the presses as fast as you finish them, and not to lend them to any body else, nor suffer any body to have a book out of the Study under cover of your name. You will find, when you get there, that I hav[e] had reason to ask this exactness. I would have you determine beforehand to make yourself a thorough lawyer, and not be contented with a mere smattering. It is superiority of knowledge which can alone lift you above the [481 ]

11 JUNE 1790

heads of your competitors, and ensure you success. I think therefore you must calculate on devoting between two and three years to this course of reading, before you think of commencing practice. Whenever that begins, there is an end of reading. I shall be glad to hear from you from time to time, and shall hope to see you in the fall in Albemarle, to which place I propose a visit in that season. In the mean time wishing you all the industry and patient perseverence which this course of reading will require I am with great esteem Dear Sir Your most obedient friend & servant, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). This letter, together with those to Lewis and Monroe of the same date, were enclosed in one that TJ wrote to "Mr. Garland" on 11 June 1790, reading as follows: "I inclose you the letters necessary for Mr. Garland Jefferson, and shall be happy, when you shall have perused and reHected on them awhile, to supply verbally any further explanations they may need, if you will do me the honor to call on me. You

will always find me at home till 12. oclock. 1 am Sir Your very humble servt, Th: Jefferson" (PrC in DLC). Neither the entry in SJ"L nor the letter itself indicates that ''Mr. Garland" was John Garland, though this was probably the case. George Jefferson, father of John Garland Jefferson, named his brothersin-law, John and Samuel Garland, as executors of his estate and it was probably the former for whom John Garland Jefferson was named. See Tyler's Quart., m (1926-1927), 40-1.

To Nicholas Lewis New York June 11. 1790.

DEAR SIR

This will be delivered you by Mr. Garland Jefferson, a relation of mine, who has been strongly recommended to me for his worth and genius. Having just finished his education, it is become necessary for him to think of some calling by which he may support himself, and the misfortunes of his father have left him without the means even of preparing himself for a calling. As his inclination is towards the law it has become more practicable for me to be of use to him, by taking upon myself his board and clothing and lending him the necessary books. I must therefore beg the favor of you to get him boarded as conveniently for his object as you can in our neighborhood, at my expence, to furnish him with clothes, and to give him access to my library. I give him a note of the books he is to read. Any further services or civilities you will be so good as to shew him, or which Mrs. Lewis will be pleased to render, will be considered as obligations on Dear Sir Your sincere friend & humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). Entry in

SJ"L

reads, in part: "(by Garl. Jefferson)."

[482 ]

To James Monroe My DEAR SIR New York June 11. 1790. This will be handed you by Mr. Garland Jefferson, a relation of mine, not otherwise known to me than by the good account I recieve of him from his uncle Mr. Garland. He goes to study the law in our neighborhood, to have the benefit of my books. Permit me to recommend him to your notice and counsel, which I hope he will endeavor to merit. As soon as he shall be far enough advanced in the theory, I may ask your assistance to introduce him to the means of learning the practical part of the law, but before that I shall have the pleasure of seeing you in Albemarle which I purpose to visit in the ensuing fall. I am with cordial esteem, my TH: JEFFERSON dear Sir Your sincere & affectionate friend, RC

(NN);

addressed: "Colo. James Monroe Charlottesville." PrC (DLC).

To Alexander Hamilton June 12. 1790. Mr. Jefferson presents his compliments to the Secretary of the Treasury, and asks his perusal of the inclosed rough draught of a report on the subject of measures, weights and coins, in hopes that the Secretary of the Treasury may be able to accomodate this plan of a mint to the very small alteration of the money unit proposed in this report. - As soon as the Secretary of the Treasury shall have read it, Mr. Jefferson asks the favor of him to return it, as he wishes to submit it to the examination and correction of some mathematical friends. RC (DLC). Not recorded in

SJL.

For note on enclosure, see under 4 July 1790.

From David Howell SIR Providence June 12. 1790 The Senators for this State were appointed yesterday and have engaged to proceed for N. York in the course of a week. The Antifederal Interest has prevailed as was to be expected; but I presume the Gentlemen appointed will prove candid, useful members of the Senate. I did intend to have written to other Gentlemen on the Subject [483 ]

12 JUNE 1790

hinted at in my last Letter; but on mature reflexion and discovering the means used by others, to which I cannot condescend, I shall remain silent and submit my pretensions to the uninfluenced Judgment of my friends. The bearer of this Letter Mr. Benja. Stelle is my friend and well entitled to the public notice and confidence. He is qualified for any office in the Revenue department in this State. With great esteem I am, dear Sir, your most obedient & very humble Servt, DAVID HOWELL

RC (DLC); at foot of text in TJ's hand: "Foster and Stanton chosen senators"; endorsed as received 21 June 1790 and so recorded in SJL.

To David Rittenhouse DEAR SIR New York June 12. 1790. I know not what apology to make for the trouble I am about to give you. I am sure I must call your publick spirit in aid of your private friendship to me. You will see by the head of the inclosed report, that the house of representatives have instructed me to lay before them a plan for establishing uniform weights, measures and coins. Five and twenty years ago I should have undertaken such a task with pleasure, because the sciences on which it rests were then familiar to my mind and the delight of it. But taken from them thro' so great a length of time, and forced by circumstances into contemplations of a very different nature and much less pleasing, I have grown rusty in my former studies. To render me more unequal to the task, it comes on me in the moment when I am separated from all my books and papers, which had been left in Paris and Virginia: and this place yeilds fewer resources in the way of books than could have been imagined. Thus situated, I have done what I could towards fulfilling the object of the house of representatives, and I think myself happy in having such a resource as your friendship and your learning to correct what I have prepared for them. The necessity I am under must be my apology. It is desirable for the public that the plan should be free from errors: it is desireable for me that they should be corrected privately by a friend, rather than before the world at large, by the unfeeling hand of criticism. Do then, my dear Sir, read it over with all that attention of which you are so much the master, and correct with severity every thing you find in it which is not mathematically just. And while I ask [484 ]

13 JUNE 1790

your attention to every part of it, I will make some notes on particular things.-It was not till after I had got through the work that I was able to get a sight of Whitehurst's on the same subject. Mr. Madison procured it for me from a library in Philadelphia. But on perusal of it, his plan of two pendulums appeared to me on the whole less eligible than Leslie's of the vibrating rod.-How has it been inferred that Sr. Isaac Newton's calculation of the length of the pendulum for the latitude of London is 39.2 Inches? From his general table in the Principia. B. 3. I deduce 39.1682. Am I wrong? If so, I may be equally wrong in the calculation of 39.1285 I. for lat. 38. 0 in which an error would be fundamentally important, and therefore I ask your peculiar attention to that. What do you think of the vibrating rod? Is it not clear of some objections which lie against the pendulum? And is it liable to any of which that is clear? And which is best on the whole?-I am too little familiar with the mechanism of the clock to know how the rod can be adapted to a machinery which shall maintain and count it's vibrations, without accelerating them by it's power, or retarding them by it's friction, in short which shall leave the rod free to make it's vibrations uninfluenced by any circumstance but it's own length. On this point no man in the world can judge or contrive better than yourself. On these then and all the other parts of the report pray give me the full benefit of your assistance. In the trouble I am giving you I feel it as a circumstance of additional misfortune that I am pressed in time. The session of Congress is drawing to a close. Nothing will keep them together after the money bills are got through, and this will be pretty soon. I am obliged therefore to ask your immediate attention to this subject, as I must give in the report before they rise. I suppose they will have it printed for consideration, to be taken up at their next meeting. I will not weary you with apologies, tho I feel powerfully the necessity of them. I am in all times and places Your sincere friend & humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON RC (Miss Elizabeth Sergeant Abbot, Philadelphia, 1954). PrC (DLC). For note on enclosure, see under 4 July 1790.

To Charles Bellini New York June 13. 1790. SIR On my arrival here I was not inattentive to your wishes. I found within my department two chief clerks, two assistants, and a

DEAR

[485 }

13 JUNE 1790

translator. One of the chiefs at 800. dollars a year, the other and the two assistants at 500. Dollars each; and the translator at 250. dollars; all of these offices held by persons who had already been many years in them. Consequently I have not had a single appointment to mp.ke; nor indeed would such as these suit you, for the salaries are low, and the drudgery that of constant copying from morning to night and day after day without intermission. An indisposition of several weeks has put it out of my power to mention this to you sooner, and I am still so poorly as to be able to add nothing more than my affectionate esteem to Mrs. Bellini and yourself, and sincere and impotent wishes for your happiness. I TH: JEFFERSON am, my dear Sir, your friend & servant, PrC (DLC).

To William Brown New York June 13. 1790.

SIR

Your favor of Apr. 29. came to my hands on the 7th. of May, while I was ill of a complaint which has not yet left me, but I find myself well enough to resume business. On a transaction of near 20 years standing, it is not wonderful that neither party can from memory alone say exactly what the transaction was. It is evident that neither you nor myself recollect it with sufficient precision, nor have I here any papers to assist me. Had your letter come to me while at my own house, all difficulty would have been prevented. I have there the papers which will shew what goods I received thro' the medium of Mr. Adams, no matter what the firm was. Against this I have a credit for 4. hhds. of tobacco. I shall pay a visit to my own house in September next, and shall then be able to ascertain all this, and will make it my business to do so. Till then therefore it must wait of necessity, and not of choice, for there is nothing I am more averse to than the existence of superannuated contests. You shall be certain therefore of hearing from me as soon as I can have access to my papers. I am with great respect Sir Your most obedt. humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). Brown's letter of 29 Apr. 1790 is recorded in SJL as received 7 May 1790 (where it is given the erroneous date 29 May). TJ sent the above letter to Charles Carroll in a note dated 13 June 1790: "Mr. Jefferson's compli-

ments to Mr. Carrol, and takes the liberty of sending the inclosed open for his perusal, since he has been so good hitherto as to be the channel of communication between him and Mr. Brown" (PrC in DLC). See TJ to Brown, 18 Apr. 1790.

[486 ]

To George Buchanan SIR New York June 13. 1790. I am to return you thanks for your kind favor of May 28. which found me so far recovered as to have no further occasion for medecine. It was the first time the bark had ever failed to remove my complaint very speedily. Some future attack may perhaps oblige me to profit of your kind counsel. In the mean time my gratitude is equally engaged to you as if I had been still under the necessity of recurring to medecine. The house of representatives have voted to remove us to Baltimore. We are impatient to see what the senate will say. I have the honor to be with great esteem Sir Your most obedt. & most humble TH: JEFFERSON servt, PrC (DLC). Buchanan's letter of 28 May 1790 read in part: "Mr. Sterett has just arrived from New York, and upon enquiring after your health, he informed me, that you had been confined for some weeks past with a periodical headache, which would not yield to Bark, and that you had declined the use of that remedy for some time, in hopes that it wou!d have a better effect when again repeated.-It frequently happens, Sir in periodical affections that the Bark fails, and the disease requires something more powerfully antispasmodick to prevent its return." Buchanan added that, from his great regard for TJ's "person and character," he took the liberty of recommending a remedy he had found to relieve periodic pain where

the "Bark, Blisters and other remedies had failed," and that he offered this in order that "the States no longer be deprived of your virtuous exertions." The prescription read: "l~ Salis. vol ammon - ;}) 1 Gum. opii. - gr.ll Mis. fac. Pill V of which you will please to take one every hour in Bed for 5 hours previous to the common accession of the fit and repeat the same for two or three days .•. and if upon consulting your Physician, you think it worthy of trial, and it proves any way advantageous towards your Cure, it will give great satisfaction to Sir your most humble servant, Geo: Buchanan" (RC in MHi; endorsed as received S June 1790, and so recorded in SIL as from Baltimore).

To Peter Carr DEAR SIR New York June 13. 1790. I have been prevented acknoleging sooner the receipt of yours of April 30. by an attack of the periodical head ach which came on me the 1st. of May, and has not yet quitted me. The first week was violent, the rest has been moderate and for these 10. days past I have been able to do business. This will be delivered you by Mr. Garland Jefferson, a relation of ours, of whom I receive a great character. He is going to study law in the neighborhood of Monticello, and will have occasion for books as fast as you can [487 ]

IS JUNE 1790

be done with them. Take care he does not catch you. I am not sorry to have somebody who will give chace to you, tho' I have. great confidence in your resolutions and reflections. I have desired him to calIon you to arrange the method of conveying books to him. You will have seen that Coke's 3d. and 4th. inst. are in the same volume. When you shall have got through the small tracts of the law, I will recommend something to you in the Political line. In the mean time I shall see you in my autumnal visit to Virginia. The house of representatives here have voted to remove to Baltimore. It is very doubtful whether the senate will concur. Doctor Walker has received, on my order, the balance due him on my private account, in which I had taken credit for the balance overpaid by the estate. This admits the overpaiment, and therefore I suppose finishes that business. My affectionate love to my sister and the girls and believe me to be your sincere friend & humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON P.S. Ask my sister to write me word whether you go on cleverly and closely with your studies. PrC (DLC).

To Alexander Donald New York June 13. 1790. Your favors of Apr. 25. and May S. are still to be acknoleged,

DEAR SIR

for an attack of a periodical head-ach has suspended my correspondencies as well as business from the 1st. of May till within a few days; nor am I yet quite clear, as the bark has this time failed to produce a cure.-On the subject of your inquietude with the custom house, you may rest assured you have suffered in nobody's estimation here. For that I will answer for you, because I have known you too long to have any doubts myself, or suffer any body else to have them.-The house of representatives voted the day before yesterday by a majority of 53. against 6. to remove to Baltimore. It is very doubtful whether the Senate will concur. Yet very possibly it will end in a removal either to that place or Philadelphia. Affairs in France go on slowly but steadily. The revolution of Brabant is very doubtful.-I thank you for your attention to my hams. Be so good as to write me to whom you addressed them at Norfolk, that I may order the master of the packet to calIon him for them; for there is a packet which plies weekly between [488 ]

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this place and Norfolk. Perhaps your correspondent does not know that. Adieu my dear Sir Your friend &: servt, TH: JEFFERSON

PrC (DLC).

To Elizabeth Wayles Eppes New York June 13. 1790.

DEAR MADAM

I have recieved your favor of May 23. and with great pleasure, as I do every thing which comes from you. I have had a long attack of my periodical head-ach, which was severe also for a few days, and since that has been very moderate. Still however it hangs upon me a little, tho for about 10. days past I have been able to resume business. I am sensible of your goodness and attention to my dear Poll, and really jealous of you; for I have always found that you disputed with me the first place in her affections. It would give me infinite pleasure to have her with me, but there is no good position here; and indeed we are in too unsettled a state. The house of representatives voted the day before yesterday, by a majority of 53. against 6. to remove to Baltimore: but it is very doubtful whether the Senate will concur. However it may very possibly end in a removal either to that place or Philadelphia. In either case I shall be nearer home, and in a milder climate: for as yet we have had not more than 5. or 6. Summer days. Spring and fall they never have: as far as I can learn, they have 10 months of winter, two of Summer with some winter days interspersed.Does Mr. Eppes sleep any better since the 6th. of March? Remember me to him in the most friendly terms and be assured of the cordial and eternal affection of Your's sincerely, TH: JEFFERSON

PrC (CSmH).

To Uriah Forrest New York June 13. 1790.

DEAR SIR

Your favor of May 13. found me under a severe indisposition, and I embrace the first moment I am able to answer it. Mr. Boyd's brother in Paris desired me to inform myself of his situation, and communicate it to him, and expressed a desire to assist him if he could find out how to do it so as to be guarded against his intentions [489 ]

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being defeated. I thought from his manner of speaking with me that he had it in contemplation to relieve his brother effectually; but he did not say precisely how far. I have written to him fully on the subject, have informed him of the necessity his brother is under of drawing on him, and have recommended the acceptance of his bills: and I believe he will accept them, but I am not authorised to say positively that he will. At any event no draught must be made till we hear from him, which may be expected as soon as the distance will permit. I am still so unwell as to be able to add nothing more than assurances of the esteem with which I am Dear Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH : JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Francis Hopkinson New York June 13. 1790. An indisposition, which is not yet entirely removed has prevented my sooner acknoleging the receipt of your kind letter of May 10. With respect to the Museums and Magazines I wait the arrival of my books and papers from Paris when I shall know what is wanting to complete my set. I inclose according to your desire my side of your account, against which you will be able to set off what you have been so kind as to pay for me. Let the balance wait your perfect convenience. I add Doctor Franklin's account also, because as the books came together it will be seen whether they are rightly charged. After you have satisfied yourself of that, I will trouble you to give it to such of his executors as you think proper.-I wanted to enquire of you whether by sending the jack of a Spinet to Philadelphia, by way of model, there is any workman there who could make me a set of jacks on your plan: but I will wait for this till you are abler to attend to it. You will have heard of the vote of the representatives to remove to Baltimore. But it is doubted whether the Senate will concur. I am only a passenger in their voyages, and therefore meddle not. Adieu my dear friend, be assured of the sincere esteem of Your affectionate humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON DEAR SIR

PrC (DLC). Enclosures: (1) TJ's statement of Hopkinson's account from 25 Jan. 1786 to 1 May 1789 for crayons, pencils, parts of the Encyclop€die M€thodique and volumes of Biblio-

theque Physico-oeconomique, amounting to 479 livres 12s, and having the following notation: "paiment having been made in French crowns of 6. each it is 88 French crowns, wanting 8.

[490 ]

13 JUNE 1790 sous. Th: Jefferson New York June 13. 1790" (PrC in DLC). (2) TJ's statement of the account of the estate of Benjamin Franklin with him, from 3 Feb. 1786 to 1 May 1789 for the same titles, carrying with it a similar notation and date at .the bottom (PrC in DLC). On a separate leaf T J totalled

the two accounts converted French crowns to Pennsylvania currency at 8s. 4d. for one crown, amounting to a total of £62 Is. 8d. due him. Against this he debited a credit for Hopkinson of £17 Is. 3d., leaving Hopkinson in debt to him for the sum of £45 Os. 3d. (DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 10109).

To William Hunter, Jr. New York June 13. 1790. I am to return you thanks for the forwarding my Phaeton, which came to hand safely about a week ago. I paid the master of the vessel 10. Dollars according to the bill of lading. You will be in alarm on Friday's vote of the house of representatives to remove to Baltimore, by a majority of 53. to 6. It may well be affirmed however that this does not shew the real wish of the house, but was the effect of confusion by the event of former votes, and being hampered by the rules of the house. It is doubtful what the Senate will do: but some think it may make an opening for changing it to a vote of the temporary residence at Philadelphia, and the permanent one at Georgetown. In the mean time we are suspended here in doubts not a little agitating. I beg you to present my affectionate remembrance to Colo. Fitzgerald, &: to be assured yourself of the sincere esteem &: respect of Dr. Sir Your most obedt. &: most humble servt., DEAR SIR

TH: JEFFERSON

PrC (DLC).

To Mary Jefferson New York June 13. 1790. I have recieved your letter of May 23. which was in answer to mine of May 2. but I wrote you also on the 23d. of May, so that you still owe me an answer to that, which I hope is now on the road. In matters of correspondence as well as of money you must never be in debt. I am much pleased with the account you give me of your occupations, and the making the pudding is as good an article of them as any. When I come to Virginia I shall insist on eating a pudding of your own making, as well as on trying other specimens of your skill. You must make the most of your time while you are with so good an aunt who can learn you every thing. My DEAR MARIA

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We had not peas nor strawberries here till the 8th. day of this month. On the same day I heard the first Whip-poor-will whistle. Swallows and martins appeared here on the 21st. of April. When did they appear with you? And when had you peas, strawberries, and whip-poor-wills in Virginia? Take notice hereafter whether the whip-poor-wills always come with the strawberries and peas. Send me a copy of the maxims I gave you, also a list of the books I promised you. I have had a long touch of my periodical head-ach, but a very moderate one. It has not quite left me yet. Adieu, my dear, love your uncle, aunt and cousins, and me more than all. TH: JEFFERSON Your's affectionately, RC (DLC); addressed: "Miss Maria Jefferson Eppington." PrC (ViU).

To Nicholas Lewis New York June 13. 1790. DEAR SIR I should sooner have acknoleged the receipt of Mrs. Lewis's kind letter of Apr. 14. but for a periodical headach which attacked me the 1st. of May, and has not yet quitted me entirely; tho since the first week it has been very moderate, and now is almqst nothing. I sincerely rejoice to hear of your recovery, which judge Wilson assures me of. I inclose a few grains of high-land rice which I received yesterday from England, and was gathered in the East Indies last fall. It may perhaps yet ripen in Virginia tho' very late. I do not know whether I ever mentioned to you that Mr. Donald gave me 26/ for my tobacco, he receiving it at Lynchburg. There is every appearance of the demand for wheat increasing the next year and keeping up for many years. So I hope we shall all lay ourselves out for that article. I think the present crop of tobacco will sell well: but no certainty beyond that.-The house of representatives have voted to remove to Baltimore, but it is doubted whether the Senate will concur. It will probably end in a removal either to that place or Philadelphia. In either case I shall be nearer home; and in any case I shall hope to see you in Albemarle in the fall. The hams which Mrs. Lewis has been so kind as to forward, will suffice here. The residue will be useful at Monticello. The former have been forwarded by Mr. Donald but not yet received. I am with affectionate respects to Mrs. Lewis, Dear Sir Your TH: JEFFERSON sincere friend & humble servt, PrC (DLC). Mrs. Lewis' letter of the erroneous date 1770.

APR.

14 is that printed in Vol. 1:40 under

[492 ]

To George Mason New York June 13. 1790. I have deferred acknoleging the reciept of your favor of Mar. 16. expecting daily that the business of the consulships would have been finished: but this was delayed by the President's illness and a very long one of my own, so that it is not till within these two or three days that it has been settled. That of Bordeaux is given to Mr. Fenwick according to your desire. The commission is making out and will be signed tomorrow or next day. I intended fully to have had the pleasure of seeing you at Gunston hall on my way here. But the roads being so bad that I was obliged to leave my own carriage to get along as it could, and to take my passage in the stage, I could not deviate from the stage road. I should have been happy in a conversation with you on the subject of our new government, of which, tho' I approve of the mass, yet I would wish to see some amendments, further than those which have been proposed, and fixing it more surely on a republican basis. I have great hopes that pressing forward with constancy these amendments, they will be obtained before the want of them will do any harm. To secure the ground we gain, and gain what more we can, is I think the wisest course. I think much has been gained by the late constitution; for the former one was terminating in anarchy, as necessarily consequent to inefficiency. The House of representatives have voted to remove to Baltimore by a majority of 53. against 6. This was not the effect of choice, but of the confusion into which they had been brought by the event of other questions, and their being hampered with the rules of the house. It is not certain what will be the vote of the Senate. Some hope an opening will be given to convert it into a vote of the temporary seat at Philadelphia, and the permanent one at Georgetown. The question of the assumption will be brought on again, and it's event is doubtful. Perhaps it's opponents would be wiser to be less confident in their success, and to compromise by agreeing to assume the state debts still due to individuals, on condition of assuming to the states at the same time what they have paid to individuals, so as to put the states in the shoes of those of their creditors whom they have paid off. Great objections lie to this, but not so great as to an assumption of the unpaid debts only. My duties preventing me from mingling in these questions, I do not pretend to be very competent to their decision. In general I think it necessary to give as well as take in a government like ours. I have some hope of

DEAR SIR

[493 ]

13 JUNE 1790

visiting Virginia in the fall, in which case I shall still flatter myself with the pleasure of seeing you. In the mean time I am with unchanged esteem & respect my dear Sir Your most obedient friend & servt, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Richard Peters New York June 13. 1790. DEAR SIR The inclosed having by some accident been mislaid among my papers it is not till now that I am able to forward it to you according to the request of the writer. My short stay in Philadelphia, and an untoward accident prevented my having the honor of seeing you there. The invitation which the society of St. Patrick was pleased to honour me with, and which would have procured me a meeting with you was never known to me but on my arrival here, where Mr. Meredith told me of it. He was so good as to promise also to be the bearer of my apology to the society, whom I would certainly have waited on, but for the want of information. Notwithstanding Friday's vote for Baltimore, some tell us we shall still have the pleasure of sojourning with you at Philadelphia. We shall soon see. In the mean time and at all times I have the honor to be with great esteem and respect Dear Sir Your most obedt. humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON RC (PHi) ; endorsed by Peters in part: "Capitaine's affairs. Ansd. 20th. I wrote to Jo. Nourse for Information." PrC (DLC). The enclosed letter pertaining to Capitaine's affairs has not

been found, but it was probably one from Jean Baptiste Le Roux, attorney for Capitaine, to Peters (see note, Short to TJ, 23 Mch. 1787). See Peters to TJ, 20 June 1790.

To Thomas Russell New York June 13. 1790. DEAR SIR The inclosed letter with which you were so kind as to entrust me, has been always carefully preserved to be restored to you on my return to America. I have now the pleasure of putting it again into your hands with as many thanks for this mark of your confidence as if I had had occasion to make use of it. I am happy in every occasion of recalling myself to your recollection and of expressing to you my sense of your civilities, and assurances of the

[494 J

13 JUNE 1790

esteem & respect with which I have the honor to be Dear Sir Your most obedient & most humble servt, TH: JEFFERSON RC (Phi); addressed: "Mr. Thomas Russell mercht. Boston"; franked, postmarked, and endorsed. PrC (DLC). The enclosure has not been found: it may have been a letter of credit that Russell gave to TJ in June 1784 to be

used in case of need-as, for example, Alexander Donald had given him a bill of exchange for £50 to provide against contingencies on the road (see record entry for TJ to Robert Morris, 3 July 1784; TJ to Donald, 11 Apr. 1790).

To George Wythe New York June 13. 1790. DEAR SIR An indisposition of several weeks has prevented my sooner acknowledging the reciept of your favor of Apr. 22.-The bookseller whom I have employed at Strasburgh always is Armand Koenig. A Biographical dictionary to which I have been obliged to have recourse for information about Phlegon, authorises me to inform you of these circumstances relative to him. He was surnamed Trallion, from a city in Lydia, and a freed-man of Adrian. There remains nothing of his at present but a treatise on those who have been long-lived, and another on wonderful things. The best edition of these fragments of Phlegon is that given by Meursius at Leyden in 1622. in 4to. Gr. and Lat. with notes. He lived to the 156th. year of the Christian aera. The author adds 'It is pretended that he spoke in the 13th. and 14th. books of his Olympiads of the darkness which happened at the death of our Saviour. Eusebius in his chronicle relates his words.'-I inclose a few seeds of highland rice which was gathered the last autumn in the East Indies. If well attended to, it may not be too late to sow and mature it after you shall recieve it. I have sowed a few seeds in earthen pots. It is a most precious thing if we can save it.-The house of representatives have voted to remove to Baltimore. It is doubted whether the Senate will concur. Perhaps it may end in a removal to Philadelphia. Adieu my Dear Sir Yours affectionately. PrC (DLC); lacks signature. The 'BIOGRAPillCAL DICTIONARY was Ladvocat's Dictionnaire historique et bibliographique portati!. On 8 Aug. 1789 TJ purchased a 4-voI. edition of this work (Paris, 1777) that was probably intended for himself. The previous month he had purchased other editions, one of which was evidently included in the shipment of books for James Madison that arrived in the Cato early in 1790 (TJ to Madison, 17 Sep. 1789;

Madison to TJ, 24 Jan. 1790; Sowerby, No. 146). But it is clear that TJ, perhaps because of his periodic headache, depended upon Madison to copy off from his copy of Ladvocat's work the text of the article on PHLEGON. In DLC: TJ Papers, 235: 42229 there is a memorandum in Madison's hand containing this extract from Ladvocat in French, and it is obvious that TJ's information above is a translation and summary made from this extract. It is

[495 ]

14 JUNE 1790 not known what edition Madison possessed (William T. Hutchinson to the Editors, 25 Nov. 1959).-TJ had received the HIGH-LAND RICE only the day before he wrote Wythe. Thus he had lost no time in planting some of it in earthen jars (see Vaughan to TJ, 27 Mch. 1790). He also gave some to Madison, who forwarded it to his father on the same day, saying that it was brought from Timor by Captain Bligh, and add-

ing: "A little rice of which the enclosed is a part was all that he saved out of a fine collection. It will be best to give the gTains their first vegetation in a flower pot of rich earth, and then shift the contents of the pot into the ground so as not to disturb the roots. A few of the grains may be tried at once in the garden in a strong soil" (James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 13 June 1790; DLC: Madison Papers).

From William Short Paris June the 14th. 1790

DEAR SIR

It has not been until three days ago that I have been relieved from the anxiety which arises naturally from the long silence of those who are absent and from whom we wish to hear. The first moments which followed the arrival of your letters of April the 6th. private and duplicate and April the 27th. were such as you may easily concieve. They shewed me that you had written often and that I had to complain only of the winds and waves. They were accompanied also by a commission of Charge des affaires which my hopes and wishes made me concieve to be a permanent commission. The pleasure this gave me blended with the gratitude which I then felt for what I considered not only as a proof of your remembrance but a continuance of your friendship all contributed to excite in me sensations that I will not attempt to describe.-You will easily percieve that I had not yet read the cypher of your two letters. I remained in this happy ignorance for two days, occasioned by the difficulty of opening your paper press, and afterwards of finding the cypher to which you refer, and which instead of being there was among my own papers, as you had given it to me with another for Carmichael the day before you left this place.-During these two days however the news of my appointment had spread itself among most of my acquaintance, and I had recieved the compliments of a great many of them. It was particularly at the Hotel de la Rochefoucauld where it produced an effect that I could not help being touched by. I am sure you will excuse that degree of vanity which is pleased with such flattering marks of distinction from such characters. On the third day I found the key of the cypher and you may judge of my situation in collecting word by word the information that the commission which I had recieved was only on account of my former appointment, that it was decided [496 ]

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to appoint a minister to this court, and that it wo.uld be from among the veterans in office.-I will not attempt to describe what I felt and what I still feel. I percieve that there is a confusion in all my ideas of which I fear that my letters of to-day will partake, and I hope you will recieve this account of my present situation as an apology for it.-If I could make you sensible of the steps of reasoning through which I passed to arrive at the certainty of remaining here either in one character or another, of the reasons for my desiring to remain here, and of those for not wishing to return to America at present, you would enter easily into the present situation of my mind. And here I declare in all the sincerity of my heart that the wish to be appointed is augmented in a multiplicate ratio by a persuasion that I could be useful, perhaps more useful than any other. I will not enter into reasons in support of this opinion. Perhaps it might have been as well not to have mentioned it, and to any other than yourself I surely should not have mentioned it.But I have been so long considered as your successor by the corps diplomatique, who from the moment of its being reported that you were called to the ministry were sure you would not return, and were as sure I should be appointed to your place that I confess I had insensibly habituated myself to the idea. My opinion was that during the absence of the French minister from New-York I should remain here as Charge des aifaires, and that after his return, if found necessary to have here a person of that grade, I should have made myself sufficiently known to merit the appointment. But as I understand from your letter the minister will be appointed immediately after the passage of the bill-perhaps before this time, and therefore reasonably speaking it is useless to say any thing on the subject. But in the present anxiety of my mind I cannot help speaking on what interests me so nearly.-The plan of my future life in public was to spend a part in France and a part in America. To leave Europe now, to return to America with the hopes of coming back here in public employment is a system which is opposed as well by my insuperable aversion to the sea, as by the plan of conduct which I should prescribe to myself after my arrival there. To remain employed in Europe at present and afterwards to return to my country and serve it there is what I had desired, and even hoped for with a kind of certainty after I had been brought to believe that you would accept the office which has the department of foreign affairs. I had fondly flattered myself I should be employed here because I was known to you, and that this would give me an opportunity of being known to my country in such a manner [497 J

14 JUNE 1790

as to be employed by it at home at a future period. These hopes had revived in my mind the desire of public life and public service which had been dormant for some time. But I find too late that it is the illusion of a misplaced vanity, and that I must endeavour to wipe it off as soon as possible now and take precautions against such illusions in future. I had listened to the flattering prospect which had been presented me for some months past by all who spoke to me, until I had allowed myself to believe that I was more proper than another for this place. I recollected the favorable opinion which your friendship had induced you to entertain of me. I saw you in a place which would necessarily influence on the appointment and I knew the influence which you could not fail to have personally and independent of your place on whatever regarded foreign affairs. All these considerations I confess had brought me into a kind of security on this subject which renders it impossible for me not to have been alarmed and affected on reading your letter of the 27th. of April. I hope this will apologize for my saying so much on what merely regards myself. It was not my intention when I began my letter, but I have been drawn into it imperceptibly and involuntarily, and I cannot help forming in my own mind the conclusion, that since under such a combination of circumstances in my favor as I can never expect again, others will be preferred to me, I must abandon forever the hopes of a place to which I had been induced to look perhaps from a miscalculated ambition. At no time certainly can I ever expect to stand so much alone and marked by the circumstance for it. I have been long here and under your auspices. I must necessarily be better acquainted with the language and customs of this court than any other that can be sent, and although little known in America I am known, or at least have been supposed, to have your good opinion, which would have sufficed since it is unquestionable that you have the confidence of all America or at least of all those who take an interest in public and particularly foreign appointments. Perhaps I feel this the more certainly from a persuasion, either true or false, which I have at this moment that I could be really useful here, and that the information of the manner of being so, which one acquires by habit will cost another, let his talents be what they may, some time and much more time than me from the know lege which a long residence had given me of the ground I was to tread on.-You will agree I am sure with me that whoever shall be sent being little acquainted with the language and less with the customs of this place must for some time be much at a loss. If that is the case I should suppose it [498 ]

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would have been more agreeable to America to have a person less known to her, but better knowing here and known to those in whom she has placed her confidence. Had I passed the last three years in America as you mention, I should perhaps have been better known there, but I should certainly have been less able to serve them here. However of this it is not for me to judge; but to subscribe to the decrees of fate and of fortune. Taking it for granted therefore that my ambition had carried my hopes too high, and that I must renounce a career for which my friends and acquaintance had been so long telling me I was more proper than another, and being unwilling to return to America at present for family reasons which I do not mention that I may not add to the details of this long and tedious letter, and desirous to remain at Paris to see the end of the great spectacle of a revolution of which I have followed the rise and progress with so much interest, and which presents new and great lessons every day in politics and morals, I would wish to have the continuance of the place I have been in for some years past with you. I know not who will be your successor but still I should be glad to remain here some time longer upon the same terms that I have done. I do not ask an augmentation of appointment, as I have seen that the law fixes that of Secretaries to that sum, but what I would ask is that I should be Secretary of legation, and this change I think will be found a proper one for reasons which I know have frequently occurred to you. The places of that kind will cost no more to Congress and it will give those they employ an opportunity of going to a school where they may learn to be afterwards useful in an higher capacity. But it is not for that reason that I ask it as to myself. I have abandoned all such flattering hopes by which I find myself already so cruelly disappointed, and a proof that this is not my inducement, is that if it should not be thought proper to give me this appointment as Secretary of legation I would accept it as I had it with you, and beg you to propose it to your successor. I am induced to ask this as well from the reasons mentioned above, as from a desire to have a proper excuse for remaining at Paris, being sensible that it would noUook well to continue here unemployed in some way or other, and still being determined to remain in Europe some time longer. I should prefer Paris on account of the revolution, and because to leave it now, would be to me like quitting the most interesting spectacle at the end of the third act.-But should any other diplomatic appointment be made for which I might be thought proper, I should be willing to accept it. London, the Hague and Lisbon, are [499 ]

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the only places to which there is a probability of any person being sent. I should prefer them in the order in which they hre mentioned. But I should not talk of preference who am forced by my private circumstances to abandon the private and independent life for which nature intended me, and to adopt a line which I am necessitated to continue for some time yet.-But I have said a great deal too much on these tedious and personal subjects. The only apology I have to offer is a repetition of that I have already mentioned. I hope you will be able after all I have said to put yourself in my place for an instant and if you do I am sure, unless you have much altered no excuse is necessary. Your letter of March the 12th. from Alexandria arrived here from Brest, the day after the others mentioned above came here from Havre. Of the two reproaches which you make me there of not writing, and of writing illegibly, I hope before this you are convinced I did not deserve the first, and the second I will take care to avoid in future, for no person feels more sensibly than I do the propriety of giving as little trouble as possible to read what we write.-Count Langeac is in Switzerland, and I have sent to his notary in vain to find out who is properly authorized to redeve the notification. They say now it is his brother. If I find that it is not I shall employ an huissier to signify it at his domicile. The servants are notified that their wages are to cease, viz. Espagnol and the Porter. Henri is kept to supply the place of Nomeni as directed by your letter. My former letters will have informed you of the robbery and flight of Nomeni, and of what I beg you to do in consequence of it. Petit's wages are continued also because he is absolutely necessary in packing and expediting your effects. To my great astonishment he seems determined not to go to America. On the redept of your letter of the 6th. of April, I mentioned to him your wish and as nothing was there said about wages I said nothing also on that article. He expressed at once a disinclination and seemed hurt that you had not written to him yourself on the subject. When the letter of March the 12th. arrived I told him what were the wages you proposed. He considered them as infinitely too low. He observed it was not worth while passing the sea without gaining more than he did here, and that his place with you here was worth in fact the double of his wages, viz. that his profits were equal to 3. louis a month, and that he supposed those profits did not exist in America. Whilst in this situation of mind I thought it useless to persuade him, or to endeavour to tempt him by the hopes of gain. Although your first letter fixed the price, yet under the second I should have thought myself authorized to [500 J

14 JUNE 1790

go a little further, but by no means to the degree of which he seemed to have an idea. At that time I supposed I was to remain here as Charge des affaires. He wished me to take him into my service; but I told him that I should not keep a maitre d'hotel in title, and that even if I did I could not under the present circumstances employ him. I let him see clearly that I was in earnest, that he might not miscalculate. It appeared evident that he counted on being employed by your successor in the case of your not returning. I intended after leaving him to his own reflexions a day or two to propose to him again to go. Since I have decyphered my letters and find that a minister will be sent he seems more than ever determined to remain and has fixed his hopes on being employed by him. Should he fail there he would perhaps be more easily induced to go to America, as I think in the present system of reform taking place in this country he will find it difficult to be employed. You would do well therefore if you continue to desire he may come, to write either to him, or to myself if you suppose from your knowlege of my situation that I shall be in Paris; and I will certainly do with alacrity whatever you may desire. If I find before your effects here should be all ready to be sent off (and Petit and the Packers say it will be at least four weeks) that he is less averse to the voyage I will again endeavour to persuade him to undertake it. For I really think he would be wrong not to go, particularly under the present circumstances of this country. Goldsmith has undertaken to procure the books you desire. The order for the furniture paper is left with Arthur who promises to furnish it in three weeks at farthest, and to send also some samples of his good arabesques with their prices. The Directeur de la salle des ventes, has the model of the clock, with a verbal and written explanation which I gave him. He began by asking twenty guineas for it, and says it will require four weeks to have it made. As he found I would not give him the price he asked he is to let me know in a day or two if he will undertake it for fifteen. If not I shall endeavour to get it made elsewhere. As to the rest of your commissions they shall be executed with all the punctuality and despatch possible. The horses will appear in the petites affiches in a day or two. The advertisement was sent immediately on the reciept of your letter. I fear however they will be ill sold although they are in perfect order and health.-I have not yet seen Tolozan and Sequeville.-The trouble which you beg pardon for giving me in winding up your affairs here needed no apology my dear Sir. It is a melancholy task, but there is no task which I am not ready to undertake not only to give you proofs of that friendship which binds [501 }

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me to you forever, but to discharge a small part of the debt of gratitude I have so long owed you and which I shall never be able to repay you. I have in my turn to apologize for the long and tedious details into which I have entered respecting myself in this letter, and to assure you that nothing but the most illimited confidence which I have been so long accustomed to place in you, added to the present anxiety of my mind, could have induced me to do it. Some indulgence may certainly be expected to my present situation. In carrying my views forward I see myself separated forever from you to whom I have long looked as to a father. As to the dimidium animae meae, that loss instead of being somewhat compensated by success in the career which I had adopted, is embittered by finding in a moment those hopes blasted, which I had cherished for a long time and which for three days I had considered as confirmed. Uncertain whether I shall be allowed to remain at Paris employed even in the lowest character; unable to bear the expences of living elsewhere in the manner to which I have been accustomed; if I return to America at present I find an unhappy family mourning still the cruel loss of a tender sister who was a mother to them, and unable to heal those wounds I can only make them bleed afresh-my fortune so circumstanced that I cannot realise it at present without the clear loss of half, and until realised I shall be a resident nowhere, and of course incapable of making myself known as you suppose. Certainly some years residence or rather non-residence of that kind would be far from being useful either to my character or my advancement. You say I should certainly have been appointed to Congress by the executive if I had been there. If I could hope for such success I should not hesitate to fly to recieve it. It is of all things what I should most desire. But it will be some years before I can even have such a chance, and even then should probably fail. In fine until I hear further from you and know something of my future lot I shall be in a state of anxiety, uncertainty and uneasiness of which the continuance is worse than death itself.-But I will not trouble you more on so disagreeable a subject.-I have sent your letter to Mde. de Tesse. She is still in Switzerland. In your letter of Dec. 14 you told me my brother was to come to New-York in the Spring with his wife. Since that I have heard nothing further of him. Do you know any thing about him? Your friends here and particularly the family of de la Rochefoucauld desire to be recalled to your memory. I hope you will never doubt of the unalterable attachment of your friend, W SHORT [502 ]

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P.S. I inclose you a list of seeds which the Dutchess D'Enville begs me to get sent from America. I will beg the favor of you to have them procured and forwarded to MM. H. Le Mesurier &; Cie. or La Motte, at Havre, or to the Dutchess D'Enville, or myself at Paris if I should be here. As they are intended for La Rocheguyon, it will be best that they should not come to Paris if it can be avoided, as may be done if addressed to Havre to be kept there until orders are given respecting them. RC (DLC); at head of text: "Private"; endorsed by TJ as received 25 Oct. 1790 and so recorded in SJL. TJ letters of 6 and 27 Apr. 1790 were received by Short on 10 June 1790. The notice to Langeac's BROTHER was given and acknowledged on 19 June 1790 (MS in DLC: Short Papers).

ENe LOS U R E

Liste Des grennes que je voudrais avoir De La merique Laurus aestivalis j Andromeda arborea

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Marina Mitida plumata pensilvanica ferruginea Sarratifolia annona triloba glabia aralia Spinosa Nudicaulis Bignonia acquinostialis Capreolata penta phylla Catalpa Cassine perugua Celastrus Buttatus Myrtifoliens Chinanthus virginica Cornus florida Cupressus Distieha thyoides Dirca palustris franklinia alatamaha Juglans alba odorata alba Minima Baccata pecan

j j j j

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j j j

j j

j

[503 ]

Benzoin Geniculata Judica Sassafras Liriodendron tulipifera Liquidambar Styraciflum X orientalis Magnolia acuminata glauca grandiflora tripetala Nissa acquatica Sylvatica pyrola Maculata rotundifolia umbellata quercus alba nigra phellos phellos Sempervirens prinos humilis rubra nana Styrax americana Lavegata Latifolica gleditsia triacanthos Monospermum Inermis horrid a purrea guilandina Divisa

14 JUNE 1790 MS (MHi ) ; in hand of Madame d'Enville; the check-marks were evidently made by TJ; endorsed by TJ as received "25 Oct. [1790] under cover from Mr. Short for the Dutchess Dan-

ville to be sent to care of La Motte intended for Rocheguyon." Madame d'Enville acknowledged the receipt of the seeds in hers to TJ of 13 Feb. 1792.

From William Short Paris June the 14th. 1790 I received three days ago the first letters which have come to my hands from you since your arrival at New-York. That of the latest date was April 30th. It contained a copy of that of April 6th. together with the newspapers sent. I delivered today to M. de Montmorin the letter of the President to the King, and another directed to him containing one of leave for you and of credence for me. I presented to him at the same time my commission as Charge des affaires and explained it to him. I communicated to him also the copy of the letter to M. de la Luzerne which he desired I would allow him to retain. He received with pleasure the information of the Resolution respecting the foreign debt. For some time past there has been no danger of the minister's disposing of their claims on the United States, for the reasons mentioned in some of my former letters which you must have received soon after the date of your last.-Mr. Necker has frequently spoken with me on this subject. He hopes that orders will be given to the bankers of the United States to pay into his hands the amount of the loan which they have made although unauthorized by Congress. I have taken care to keep him well informed of the dispositions which Congress have manifested at different times during the present session relative to the support of their credit. I called on him yesterday to communicate to him in person the resolution of which you inclosed me a copy. As I did not see him, I shall either call again to-morrow or send it to him. Since the abolition of the gabelle I have renewed the subject of the importation of salted provisions with Mr. Necker. I inclose you a letter which Mr. Lambert the Controller general has written me relative thereto. It would be well perhaps if a beginning could be given to this business by the city of Paris contracting for certain supplies at a fixed price. I mentioned this to Mr. Necker and he seemed desirous that something of the sort should be done, but said it was necessary first to examine the subject under all its circumstances. I have no doubt of being able soon to put this DEAR SIR

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matter in a train which will be equally advantageous to the two countries. The locks which you desire to be sent are already ordered. The workman says that three weeks will be necessary to complete them. They shall be forwarded without loss of time agreeably to your directions. [The affair of our captives I fear will never be arranged in the present chanel.]l You will recollect the little hope which you had of its success before your departure. As soon as I received the bills of exchange from Amsterdam I gave notice of it to the General of the Mathurins. But I have as yet had no information of any steps being taken by him: so that the affair remains now as when you left this place, except that the money has been received and lodged in the hands of Mr. Grand. I kept the bills some time in my possession agreeably to your wishes. But when the term of their payment arrived I sent them to Mr. Grand not thinking it safe to keep the money here. [Immediately on the receipt of your letter I wrote to the General of the Mathurins to let him know how much you had this affair at heart, and to beg he would inform me how it stood at present. He was gone into the country, but I suppose I shall hear from him in a few days.]l I shall employ Dupre to execute the medal you mention, after having consulted with the Abbe Barthelemi respecting those parts which are left undecided; and no time shall be lost in forwarding the business. The committee of impositions, or at least a majority of them, are still for continuing the farm of tobacco nearly in its present condition. You will easily believe there are necessary inducements to this system when you learn that Dupont contrary to his well known uniform opinions, is one of the most zealous supporters of it. I have had several conversations with him on the subject as well as other members of the committee. They have had communication also of your letter to Count Vergennes on the subject.-The reasons with them for continuing the farm of tobacco is that the topographical situation of France renders it absolutely impossible to raise the present revenue on it by an impost. Importations would take place by land where it would be impossible to avoid smuggling-besides Lorraine and Alsace where considerable quantities are made, being now to be taken within the barriers of France would increase the cultivation of this article as it would not be subjected to the duties of importation. The southern provinces would do the same. They add that the object most to be desired is the abolition of the gabelle, [505 ]

14 JUNE 1790

that in order to replace that tax they have been obliged so to augment the direct taxes as to render their collection difficult and even doubtful, that there is no other means of replacing the farm of tobacco but by augmenting still the direct taxes, and that therefore it is impossible at present to hazard so important a branch of the public income, which is raised for the most part on the rich, and in a manner imperceptible. You will easily concieve that the advantages which might be expected from extending their commerce with us, and of recieving raw in exchange for manufactured articles, being distant, have not their full weight with those whose fullest occupation is the search of present relief. It is impossible however that the commerce of this article should not be rendered free as soon as a fixed revenue shall have put government somewhat at its ease. This is the firm persuasion and wish of every member of the committee of impositions with whom I have spoken on the subject: insomuch that when they first began to deliberate on it, they were fully disposed to have immediately abolished the farm. The solicitude of Mr. Necker and the considerations mentioned above are the causes of their suspending it. In several parts of France different bodies of gardes nationales have assembled in order to form a federation in support of the present constitution. They have in general been nothing more than a kind of patriotic feast, with a renewal of the civic oath (d'etre fideles il la loi, il la nation et au Roi) and an address of adhesion to the national assembly and their decrees. These assemblies have given rise to an idea in the Municipality of Paris to invite deputations from all the gardes nationales in the Kingdom, and from the several regiments of regular troops to assemble at Paris on the anniversary of the taking of the bastille (l4th. July). This idea has been presented by the municipality to the national assembly, and a decree has been accordingly passed regulating the mode of deputation. The marine, marechals of France and other general officers have been added: and it is supposed the whole will be between ten and twelve thousand. The King and national assembly are to be present. What is to be the object of this meeting, and what its event is uncertain. The proposers of the plan have certainly no bad intentions: but it is suspected that the original movers of it are those who are considered as the leading members of a popular faction in the assembly. Their party being now evidently the weakest, they will endeavour to strength it by external support. Their plan is believed to be to render the deputations of the gardes nationales who shall assemble here, a deliberating body, for the purpose or pretext of ratifying [506 ]

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the constitution or of petitioning against certain parts of it, and of proposing others with a resolution not to separate until their petition shall be granted. These are at present the well grounded suspicions of the designs of a few of the demagogues of the assembly. In the present effervescence of the times it is impossible to calculate what will be the effect produced by this meeting, and serious apprehensions of ill are entertained by those who are best informed. On the news of Dr. Franklin's death being received here the national assembly decreed that they would go in mourning for three days, and that their President should write to Congress to notify to them the part they take in the melancholy event. A kind of enthusiasm has spread also through the different parts of the capital-different societies and bodies have shewn their adhesion to the sentiments of the national assembly in different ways. The King and Royal family are now at St. Cloud, and if we may judge of the effect which this circumstance has produced on the minds of the Aristocratical party we may conclude that they consider it as a proof that he is determined to give no opposition to the constitution. He has besides issued a proclamation censuring severely the conduct of those who continue their opposition and enjoining all to wear its badge, the national cockade, as he does it himself. He has given orders also to the Herald's office to receive no longer the genealogical titles which were formerly necessary to enable a person to be presented at court. Under these circumstances of good humour, between the court and the national assembly the civil list has been settled. They referred the sum entirely to the King who proposed twenty-five millions qff ann. and to secure to the Queen in the case of her surviving him, a dower of four millions ~ ann. This was adopted unanimously. I am with most perfect respect & esteem, Dear Sir, Your most obedient & most humble Servant, W SHORT PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head of text: "No.33"; at foot of first page: "Mr. Jefferson Secretary of State." Recorded in SJL as received 25 Oct. 1790. Tr (DNA: RG 59, DD). Extract of that part indicated in note 1, below, misdated 4 June 1790, exists in three Trs (PrC in DLC and in DNA: RG 59, MLR; FC in same, SDR). See report on Algerine captives, 28 Dec. 1790. Short's LETTER ••• TO TIlE GENERAL OF TIlE MATHURlNS ( Chauvier), was written 14 June 1790, and infonned him that TJ, despite the discouraging letter received from Chauvier from Aix-

en-Provence (see enclosure, TJ to Jay, 19 Sep. 1789), had left funds to be used for the prisoners' redemption and that these fUl'.ds would be available in the hands of the banker for the United States if he thought it practicable to make use of them for this purpose (DLC: Short Papers). The dispirited manner in which Short reported upon events in Paris in this first dispatch written after he had received the disappointing communications of 6 and 27 Apr. 1790 from TJ is evidenced in the contrast between it and his private letter to John Brown

[507 ]

14 JUNE 1790 Cutting, 9 June 1790. Cutting, knowing nothing of the nature of Short's official dispatches and evidently desiring to give TJ as speedy a narrative of French affairs as possible, forwarded this letter to him-thus unintentionally providing TJ with a more convincing proof of Short's lack of sympathy with the extremists among the revolutionists. This letter reads in part as follows: "The riots which I mentioned in my letter to Rutledge were certainly a combined system and gave real alarm to all good citizens. It was feared also that they were intcnded as a battery against the popularity-perhaps against the life of the Marquis de la fayette, who begins to be considered as the guardian angel of the capital (this is the expression of one of the most enlightened and able members of the assembly). Fortune who has never yet abandoned the Marquis, has turned these schemes in his favor or at least averted them. The riots have subsided, after having served no other purpose than that of giving the Marquis an opportunity of displaying the utmost coolness and personal courage and a determined resolution to preserve a perfect obedience to the law, which has acquired him enthusiasts in a class where he hitherto had only enemies. The popular faction in the assembly which began to be alarming seem already to have lost favor even among the lower classes of people. The national guards who it was feared had some kind of attachment, or at least some among them, to the principles supported by this faction, have lately exhibited and pronounced in the most positive manner contrary sentiments. They presented an address to their general in which they renew the assurances of their attachment to him and the principles he professes. They say they consider as an insult offered to them any hint which may be given that they had concieved an idea of changing these sentiments. This address was delivered on account of a letter written to the Marquis by one of the demagogues of the assembly and who it had been reported, was intriguing to supplant him. The letter had been considered as a means of feeling the pulse of the guards. IT so, the address is an answer which will fully satisfy the doubtful and effectually annihilate any pretensions which might have been entertained by the popular factions. This party underwent another defeat two days ago in the assembly. The member of that body to whom they are

most opposed is the Abbe Sieyes who has been so much distinguished in this revolution. The Marquis de la fayette's party proposed him as President. The party headed by La Meth, Barnave !ltc., fearing, being even sure, that they could not carry to the fautueil anyone of their own body in opposition to the Abbe Sieyes, proposed a member of the Noblesse who had long been an aristocrat, and who is not now a member of the club of Jacobins. They hoped that the Aristocrats and themselves both voting for this member that he would be made President. It turned out however the reverse. The Abbe Sieyes had a great majority, and left the party opposed to him not only the mortification of the defeat, but that of having discovered that they preferred even a member of the noblesse, under severe suspicions of aristocracy, to one of the present prevailing party which has the confidence of the people. In general the Speech of a President on coming to the chair is merely a thing of course. The Abbe Sieyes however in his speech of yesterday, united other subjects to that of meer form and gave it a character which belongs only to the productions of great men. You will certainly have it in the English newspapers. Of course it is useless to send it to you. I advise you to read it as containing some masterly strokes, representing the progress of the assembly, as well as its delay on several occasions.-It is rather to give you a trait of French national character, rather of national politics, that I subjoin here, that I passed yesterday evening in company with this President and [a bi]shop formerly President of the same assembly. I will not leave you to guess how the after supper was passed, as you could never divine it, but I will tell you right cut, it was at blind mans buff, and as the two Presidents were far from being the most active of the company, they were the most often the blind man without excepting even the ladies. What will you say when I add that this party was at the house of the most able mathematician and greatest philosopher of France, and member of all the academies in the Kingdom? What would John Bull say if such a party of blind mans buff had been played in London. Would he not have sent them all to Bedlam? From whence comes this difference between two people separated only by a narrow stream?" (RC in DLC; postmarked "JU 14"; an entry in SJL for 28 Aug. 1790

[508 ]

15 JUNE 1790 records the receipt of a letter from Cutting of 11 June; this was probably only a cover of later date for Short's letters of 9 and 11 June 1790 to Cutting; that of 11 June informed Cutting of the receipt of TJ's letters "so long

expected"; both are in DLC; see also Short to TJ, 23 May 1790, note)_ 1 The matter in brackets (supplied) constitutes that part of the text embraced in the extract noted above.

From David Meade Randolph Presque Isle, 15 June 1790. Encouraged by the friendly sentiments expressed by TJ to his friend T. M. Randolph, in response to his application through him for a post, he ventures to make a suggestion "under the late law appointing Commissioners of Loans.-[Colo. Heth's situation must have been long since known to be disagreeable-the emoluments of his Office little more than equal to his expences. Any appointment of even equal value, which woud not detach him from his family wou'd be more eligible. To me his present Office woud be infinitly servicable, and I venture to express to you the necessity I may be under of seeking something of the kind. It is more than probable that the office of Commissioner woud be wished by Colo. Heth.]lUpon the first agitation of the scheme for establishing an office at this Port, I made application to several gentlemen in Congress whose friendship I was vain enough to calculate upon. My vanity however did not conceive an application to the President himself, not having been honored with an acquaintance sufficient." His friend Mr. [John] Walker having forwarded the act which prompted these sentiments, he draws TJ's attention to the subject, "and [shoud you think me worthy, I shall feel myself highly obliged by your favour, either in the ataintment of the one or the other of the above Offices, as you shall think most proper.")! RC (DLC: Applications for Office under Washington); endorsed by T J as received 24 June 1790 and so recorded in SJL; addressed; postmarked: "[RIC]HMOND, June 16"; address leaf contains calculations made by T J for his report on weights and measures. Tr (DLC: same); in TJ's hand, consisting of "Extract of a letter from David Meade Randolph to Th: Jefferson dated June 15. 1790." (See note 1 below). TJ's letter to T. M. Randolph, Jr., was that of 18 Apr. 1790; see ,also TJ to Randolph, 28 Mch. 1790. The extract

that TJ made was obviously intended for the attention of the president, to whom he had already spoken about the matter. 1 T J took some liberties in quoting from Randolph's letter for the purpose of making the extract, which is enclosed in brackets (supplied). For example, the matter enclosed in the second set of brackets was rendered by TJ as follows: "should I be thought worthy either of the one or the other, it's attainment would highly oblige me."

To David Rittenhouse DEAR SIR

New York June 14. [i.e. 15] 1790.

I inclosed you, the day before yesterday a rough draught of the report I had prepared on the subject of weights and measures. I [509 ]

15 JUNE 1790 have this morning recieved from Mr. Short a proposition made by the Bishop of Autun to the National assembly of France on the same subject, which I inclose you, and will beg the favor of you to return it by post after you shall have perused it. He mentions that the lat. of 45. 0 as being a middle term between the Equator and pole had been proposed as the general standard for measures, and he makes the proposition anew, and desires it should be made to England. As this degree of Latitude is our Northern boundary, as it may form a link between us and Europe, and as the degree which shall give the standard is not otherwise very material, I have thought of proposing it in my report instead of the 38th. degree. I have in consequence gone over my calculations again upon the ground of a pendulum of 36 pouces 8,628 lignes (Sr. Isaac Newton's calculation for 45 39.[14912] inches giving a rod of 58.72368 inches, and reformed the tables (last page of the report) of which reformation I send you a copy. The alterations in the body of the work may be easily made from this. The bishop sais the pendulum has been calculated for 45. 0 to be 36. pouces 8.52lignes. This is YIo of a line less than Sr. I. Newton's, and the Bishop accordingly adds that there may be in this calculation an error of YIo of a line. I had taken no notice of the precaution of making the experiment of the pendulum on the sea-shore, because the highest mountain in the U.S. would not add YIooo part to the length of the earth's radius, nor YI28 of an inch to the length of the pendulum: the highest part of the Andes indeed might add about YIooo to the Earth's radius, and Y2 5 of an inch to the pendulum. As it has been thought worth mention, I will insert it also. Your letter of Apr. 20. was duly attended to by me, but I fancy the successor had been decided on before it was known to the public that there would be a vacancy. I am with great esteem, my dear TH: JEFFERSON Sir, Your sincere friend & humble servt., 0

)

PrC (DLC); proof of the error in date exists in the entry in SJ"L for 15 June 1790 recording receipt of Short's letter of 29 Mch. 1790, and also in Hamilton's acknowledgement on

Wednesday, 16 June 1790, of a (missing) ''note of yesterday" which clearly had transmitted to him the same infonnation that TJ here presented to Rittenhouse.

From George Thompson Richmond 15th. June 1790 This day I waited on Col. Thomas M. Randolph upon the business of the Ballance due from him as a Subscriber to the Clearing SIR

[ 510]

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of the Rivanna River. Upon One of the Subscription papers, he has put down ten pounds. Upon one Other paper Seventeen pounds ten Shillings is Subscribed for Col. Randolph. It is in your hand writing. The Colonel Refuses to pay unless he Can hear from you. It also appears that Mr. Creasey has Given you Credit for only five pounds and your Subscription is ten pounds. I Shall be Oblige to you to have your old papers Examined and See how Much you did pay. I wou'd Not wish to be Troblesom, as Suppose you are Much Ingaged in Business, but Shall you find a lesure Minute, will thank you to let me hear from you. I am Sir Yr. Mo. Ob. St., G. THOMPSON RC (MHi); endorsed as received 24 June 1790 and so recorded in

SIL.

To George Washington June 15. 1790. Th: Jefferson has the honor to inclose for the President's perusal a letter from Mr. Gouverneur Morris on the subject of our affairs in Amsterdam; the observations are worthy being known to the President. Mr. Howell of Rhode island has imposed on him the duty also of putting into his hands the letter and papers from him. The printed papers are merely to prove his dispositions enounced in the letter. Since writing the above, the inclosed letter from Mr. Short is received. RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); endorsed. Not recorded in SIL. Tr (DNA: RG 59, SDC). Enclosures: (1) Gouverneur Morris to TJ, 10 Apr. 1790. (2) Howell to TJ, 3 June 1790. (3) Short to TJ, 29 Mch. 1790.

From Alexander Hamilton Wednesday [16 June 1790] Mr. Hamilton presents his Compliments to Mr. Jefferson. He has perused with much satisfaction the draft of his report on the subject of weights and measures. There is no view which Mr. H. has yet taken of the matter which stands opposed to the alteration of the money-unit as at present contemplated by the regulations of Congress either in the way suggested in the report or in that [511 J

17 JUNE 1790 mentioned in the note of yesterday. And there are certainly strong reasons to render such a correspondency desireable. The idea of a general standard among nations, as in the proposal of the Bishop D Autun seems full of convenience and order. RC (DLC); undated, but certainly written on the date assigned: on Tuesday, 15 June 1790, TJ recorded receipt of the letter containing the proposition of the Bishop of Autun to the National Assembly; he immediately transmitted

a copy of it to Rittenhouse, as he also obviously did in a (missing) NOTE OF YESTERDAY to Hamilton (see Short to TJ, 29 Mch. 1790; TJ to Hamilton, 12 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, under 15 June 1790).

To Alexander Hamilton New York June 17th. 1790 SIR I have the honor to enclose you an estimate of the probable expences of the Department of State for one year from the 1st. day of April last past, not including the diplomatic establishment abroad, for which there is a Bill before Congress to make a special appropriation. I have given directions that a list shall always be sent to, your Office of all Commissions to be made out for persons connected with the revenue, and whenever you think proper, the Commissions themselves shall be sent to your office to be forwarded thence. I have the honor to be with sentiments of the most perfect esteem THOMAS JEFFERSON and respect &c., ENe LOS U R E

Estimate of the expenees of the Department of State for one year from April 1St. 1790. The Secretary of State, his Salary 1st The Home Office. One Clerk @ 800 dollrs. One do. @ 500 dollrs. office keeper and messenger Stationary Firewood Newspapers from the different States,2 suppose 15 @ 4 dollars A collection of the Laws of the States to be begun, suppose Drenan's account of 1789, August 19th. going express3 6 dollrs. Maxwell's Do.4 10 [ 512 J

dollrs. 3500 1300 100 1101 50 60 200 16

1836

EDITORIAL NOTE 2d. The Foreign Office. One Clerk @ 800. doUrs. two Do. @ 500. doUrs. each The french Interpreter Office keeper and messenger Rent of the office Stationary &c. Firewood Gazettes from abroad, and do. to be sent abroad Contingencies

1800 250 200 200 75 1 50 25 25

2625 7961

New York June 16th. 1790. FC (DNA: RG 59, PCC NOoI20). Enclosure (FC in same). Dft (DLC); in TJ's hand; at head of text: "Estimate of the expences of the Department of state for one year from Apr. 1. 1790."; with some alterations and deletions, the more important of which are indicated below. 1 This figure in both offices was increased, as the altered (and indecipherable) figures show; the item covered "Parchment, paper, blank books &c."

as it was expressed in Dft. 2 At this point in Dft TJ wrote, and then deleted, "and from Canada." The total for this item in Dft was originally $68, indicating that TJ had at first thought of subscribing to two papers from Canada. 3 In Dft this item reads: "John Drenan's account of 1789. Aug. 19. for going express to S. Quay 6. Do" 4 In Dft this item reads: "James Maxwell Doo Do. for a boat express. 10 [Do]."

Documents on American Commercial Policy I. [NEIL JAMIESON] TO JOSIAH PARKER, 18 JUNE 1790

II. ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SOUTHERN MERCHANTS, [JUNE 1790?]

EDITORIAL

NOTE

The documents printed below were employed by Jefferson and Madison in a renewal of the bitter fight of the preceding session of congress when, according to Senator Maclay, Madison's effort to counter the effect of British commercial policy was defeated by "villainous amendments . . . for doing away with the discrimination between foreigners in and out of treaty with US."l The two men had been laboring in separate spheres on this problem, but their views were as similar when an ocean separated them as now when they were together in the government. Madison had been in the legislature in 1785 when petitions from 1

Maclay, Diary, ed. Maclay, p. 78.

[ 513 ]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk flowed in to protest the effect of Sheffield's policy: "That the prohibition laid by Great Britain on the trade to the West Indies, and the almost total monopoly of the other branches of trade by foreigners, has produced great distress and much injury to the trade of the Commonwealth; that the rapid decrease of American bottoms, the total stop to ship-building and to the nursery of American seamen occasioned thereby, threaten the most alarming consequences unless timely avoided by the wisdom of the Legislature."2 He had mobilized this discontent in support of the resolution calling for a commercial convention in 1786, thus entering upon a course that led directly to the debates of the first session of congress, of which he provided Jefferson with a far more explicit and full account of the "three distinct and urgent debates" of 1789 than Maclay could have given. He had also made it clear long before Jefferson left Paris that a strong minority in the senate wished to place Great Britain at once on a mostfavored-nation basis, being prompted thereto by the spirit of a city "steeped in Anglicism."3 Jefferson, on his part, had been countering the effects of British policy by endeavoring to multiply the bonds of trade with France, and when he stepped ashore at Norfolk he saw the town ''rising like a Phoenix out of its ashes," its Scottish and English merchants engaged in rebuilding the totally ruined town whence they had fled in 1776, and welcoming him with gratitude for his effvrts in behalf of the commercial community.4 There can be little doubt that, when Jefferson and Madison met at Monticello a few weeks later, they were fully informed of the fact that those engaged in trade and shipbuilding now looked to the federal government as they had formerly looked to the state. Nor can there be any doubt that the two men were in accord on the broad outlines of policy to be pursued and were cognizant of the sources of opposition to it in the north. As secretary of state, Jefferson would have the task of meeting French objections if, in continuing the policy of discriminating against foreign tonnage, congress made no exceptions for those nations in treaty with the United States. The point had been urged in the debates of the preceding year, and the French ministry was not unaware of that fact. Both men were explicit in asserting that the true nature of the policy was not one of retaliation but of freedom and reciprocity. The system of commercial treaties offered, in Jefferson's view, a means of disencumbering trade of its shackles: "Would even a single nation begin with the United States this system of free commerce, it would be advisable to begin with that nation; since it is one by one only, that it can be extended to all. . . . But should any nation, contrary to our wishes, suppose it may better find its advantage by continuing its system of prohibitions, duties, and regulations, it behoves us to protect our citizens, their commerce and navigation, by counter prohibitions."5 2 H. B. Grigsby, Virginia Federal Convention of 1788, Richmond, 1790, p. 35960. See also ASP, Commerce, I, 5-6. 3 Madison to TJ, 9 May and 30 June 1789; see Vol. 9: 204-8, note. 4 See under 25 Nov. 1789; T. J. Wertenbaker, Norfolk, p. 70-90. 5 TJ's report on commerce, 16 Dec. 1793; see also Martin to TJ, 15 Nov. 1784, and enclosures, for effect of British policy on tobacco trade.

[514 ]

EDITORIAL NOTE The reopening of the issue came within a few days after Jefferson arrived in New York when a long, cogent argument appeared in a newspaper over the signature A.B., urging that federal revenue could be augmented by encouragement to commerce and that this in turn could be increased by counter measures against Britain: "The conduct of Great-Britain may furnish us with a very useful hint, and we shall be unwise indeed if we do not profit by her experience. Her acts of trade and navigation shew clearly her attention to her own shipping, and the reluctance she has always discovered to any relaxation of their rigor proves that she is fully sensible of the advantages gained by them. Let us attend a little to her conduct. Her ships must be British-built, and the master and three-fourths of the hands must be British subjects.... Large quantities of our timber, plank, masts, &c.are annually carried off in British ships sent hither for the purpose; thus her seamen are employed, and a freight is made. The raw materials carried from us are manufactured in Great-Britain, and her ship-carpenters and their attendants, blacksmiths, ship joiners, caulkers, block makers, mastmakers, rope-makers, riggers, sail-makers, boat-builders, and a great number of others are furnished with employment and support. The ships, thus built, furnish a nursery for seamen, become the carriers of British manufactures to us, and of our products home, as remittances for those manufactures; for all which we must pay: and they are at this time profitably employed in carrying the produce of the United States to France, where they obtain a bounty on it. Due attention to the encouragement of shipping, and the proper regulation of commerce would throw all these advantages into our hands, and prevent our commercial and seafaring men the mortification of seeing foreigners engrossing our trade and growing rich by it, while they themselves are neglected and unemployed; it would fill our harbours with vessels manufactured at home, and with hardy seamen born among ourselves, who would have stronger attachments to the country than the mercenaries who come here merely for the sake of gain; and on whose assistance we could rely in case of necessity." There was a hint of American mercantilism in the argument, but in general it followed the line of reasoning that Madison had employed in the previous session, concluding with an opinion such as he would soon voice in congress: "Why should we abuse ourselves, and do injustice to our allies, by submitting to ... an haughty nation, with whom we have no commercial treaty? A decided preference in every point of view ought to be given to our o~n shipping; and foreign ships should be absolutely prohibited from carrying the produce of these states to any port or place, to which American vessels are not admitted." A.B. deplored the absence of commercial men in congress and extended such an invitation as to suggest that its author was a member of that body: "if our merchants would, from time to time, suggest . . . improvements upon the commercial system of the Union, ... these will, undoubtedly, be properly attended to by our national government, and such arrangements will be made as would promote our manufactures, extend our commerce, and assist our revenue."6 6

Daily Advertiser, 1 Apr. 1790.

[ 515]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 The invitation, from whatever source it came, was not unheeded. Six weeks later Madison informed Edmund Randolph that, as a result of a petition from merchants and shipbuilders of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the question of commercial relations with England had been revived. "A Majority of the H. of Reps.," he wrote, "seemed disposed to make a pretty bold experiment; and I think it will meet with a very different reception in the Senate from the measure tried at the last session. If it fails, it will be owing to a dislike of the preference to Nations in Treaty."1 In brief, in this continuing conflict of sectional and economic interests that had produced a long-standing cleavage in the national councils, it would fail by the preponderant numbers of those "steeped in Anglicism" over those whose policies inclined them toward France. In view of the fact that Virginia stood second only to Pennsylvania in the amount of revenue contributed to the federal treasury from duties on foreign and domestic tonnage, it is understandable that the forces of the bold experiment should have been led by Madison and that the operation should have been watched closely by the secretary of state. 8 Madison had "very great doubts" whether the increased duty on tonnage proposed by the committee in response to the memorial would "answer the design . . . so far as it was pointed against that nation whose shipping most interfered with American shipping" and he "doubted much the policy of laying this duty on the shipping of France."9 It was on 14 May that he voiced the words alluded to in the final sentence of Document I: "The Southern States may build ships, and in this business they enjoy some advantages over all the rest. There are cases in which it is better to do nothing than not to do a great deal." He then intimated that it "might be good policy to interdict the vessels of all nations from carrying our produce." Here he ran into the stern opposition of Fisher Ames, who doubted the advantage of commercial treaties, did not wish to see them extended, and thought the proposal to make a discrimination was merely ''to testify our gratitude to our allies by waging a commercial war with nations not in treaty." But the first test of strength was a victory for Madison: the resolution that increflsed to one dollar the duty on "all foreign-built bottoms belonging to Jlations not in commercial treaty with the United States" was adopted by a vote of 32 to 19. 10 Encouraged by this, he assumed an advanced position the next day by moving an addition to the resolution that "no such vessel be permitted to export from the United States any unmanufactured article being the growth or produce thereof." Fitzsimmons thought this "an experiment of too bold a complexion"-the words themselves suggesting that the Pennsylvanian had been consulted by the Virginian before the test of strength-and Sedgwick called it "a useless declaration, an impotent measure of passion . . . not dictated by the understanding." Again the motion prevailed, coupled with a proviso excepting the Madison to Randolph, 19 May 1790 (DLC: Madison Papers). "Abstract of Duties ..• from Sep. 1 to Dec. 31 1789," furnished Madison by Hamilton; also totals to 31 Mch. 1790 (same). 9 Annals, II, 1624. 10 Annals, II, 1625-6. 1

8

[ 516 J

EDITORIAL NOTE vessels of those nations which permitted the importation of salt fish and provisions, grain, and lumber in vessels of the United States. Madison reported to Monroe on 1 June 1790 that the "experiment for navigation and commercial purposes" had powerful support in the house and that its success in the senate was "not improbable."l1 But his optimism was premature. The defective reports of the debates defy all effort to trace the history of the bill levying duties on tonnage, but, as passed by the house on 24 June, it simply reenacted those of the previous year. Maclay, disgusted with the Pennsylvania-Virginia coalition over assumption, was not at all averse to seeing the Virginians "whipped with their own rod" on this question and wondered why so repetitious a bill had been passed at all. 12 On the face of it, this was the end of the bold thrust. But, surprisingly, Madison returned to the attack the day after the tonnage bill was passed, bringing forward a motion on trade and navigation. This provided that the duty on ships not built in the United States and belonging wholly or in part to a national of a state not in treaty with the United States should be one dollar per ton, and that such vessel, on pain of seizure and forfeiture of both vessel and cargo, should be forbidden to carry produce of American origin, with the proviso that this duty and prohibition should not apply to vessels of a foreign state that permitted importation in American vessels of salt fish and provisions, wheat, rye, corn, and lumber. Jackson of Georgia, in a lengthy speech, found the entire bill obnoxious. "Your lumber cutters, tobacco, rice and other planters," he declared, "would be ruined, for the hand of industry would be stayed, and destruction or disgrace to your government would be the result." He concluded with the prediction that Britain would soon relax her restrictions; that this was not the time to begin a commercial war; and that, with the imminence of armed conflict between England and Spain, it "was the duty of America to remain neuter, and to reap the advantage of commerce with the whole of those powers." Smith of South Carolina called the bill "an angry measure levelled at Great Britain" and suggested that it would be wiser to "leave it to the executive to obtain commercial benefits to this country by a well-timed negociation with Great Britain." Lawrence of New York argued that, since a tonnage bill for revenue purposes had been passed, its object would be adversely affected by any alteration for the sake of commercial regulation. He, too, opposed the whole bill. The entire attack was levelled at Madison, who defended his measure as the only one that would effectually carry out the intent of the resolution originally adopted by the house. 13 On the 29th Fitzsimmons offered a substitute bill providing discriminatory duties "on all ships or vessels arriving in any port of the United States, from places Annals, II, 1626-35; Madison, Writings, ed. Hunt, VI, 14. Maclay, Diary, ed. Maclay, p. 263, 310, 322; JHR, I, 247, 249, 250, 268, 272, 274; Statutes at Large, I, 135-6. 13 This debate affords an excellent proof that the Annals is a misleading, inadequate, and undependable source; the report of these proceedings in Daily Advertiser, 29 June 1790, occupies six columns; Annals, II, 1710, states merely that a "lengthy debate" took place. 11 12

[ 517 ]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 at which the United States are not permitted to trade." The next day Madison discoursed on the broad question of commercial policy, and, since discrimination against foreign vessels as originally proposed had been rejected, he brought forward the idea of reciprocity as one that might meet with general approval. He contended that reciprocity did not then exist in trade with Great Britain, for "while our shipping is excluded from many of her ports, and admitted into others under such restrictions as are nearly tantamount to a prohibition, their shipping is freely admitted into all the ports, harbors, and bays of the United States." He then introduced two propositions under principles of reciprocity that looked to the opposition very much like retaliation under another name. The first forbade, on penalty of forfeiture, any ships owned wholly or in part by nationals of another country from importing goods of that nation into the United States if its laws prohibited American vessels from doing so; the second, on the same condition, provided a like penalty for exporting American produce into that nation in vessels owned by its nationals. Jeremiah Wadsworth thought this "a very bold measure indeed" and one "calculated to try the strength of the committee." Sherman disagreed with his colleague, and thought the propositions "nothing more than a proper assertion of the equal rights of this country" and "merely meeting with counter regulations the regulations of other countries that are hostile to our interests"-in brief, a reciprocity of penalties. Jackson declared that the bill would annihilate his state's trade with the West Indies and thought it very extraordinary that ''the gentleman from Virginia should come forward with one exceptionable proposition after another."14 But Madison's recurrent attacks in the house were being paralleled by broadsides against the opposition delivered in the press. On the day when he introduced his first proposal after the adoption of the tonnage bill, the Daily Advertiser carried the story of the condemnation of the ship Eliza that had been bought in Savannah by a British subject without a fixed place of residence who, as the privy council conceded on appeal, had acted in good faith but had violated the British "laws of navigation and trade as they now stand."15 The report of the condemnation proceedings was followed the next day by the account of an American vessel that had sailed from London on the 8th of May after having had all of her hands impressed despite the fact that they were not British subjects. And on the day that Madison brought forth his proposals of reciprocity, the Gazette of the United States published the "Extract of a letter from a gentleman in - - England, to his friend in America."16 The same extract, with an identical caption, appeared the next day in the Daily Advertiser, followed by this assurance: "The above facts are undoubted, coming from the very best authority." It may be presumed that both, like the letter of the Norfolk shipowner from which the text of the extracts was drawn, were prepared by a clerk in the department of state under the eye of the secretary, thus 14 15 16

Annals, II, 1712-14. Daily Advertiser, 25 June 1790; italics in text as printed there. Gazette of the United States, 30 June 1790.

[ 518 ]

EDITORIAL NOTE transforming him from an interested spectator of the proceedings in the house to an active collaborator of the principal protagonist. 17 From this same source someone in the circle of collaborators quarried another extract, published three days later in Fenno's Gazette as if it were in answer to the first and from another quarter: "From the English letter in your last paper, it appears evidently, that the people of Great-Britain, from the Merchant to the Minister, foreseeing the advantages that will accrue to America from a proper attention to, and support of her shipping interest, are determined if possible to defeat our expectations, and to throw every obstacle in the way, to prevent our success.-The deep laid scheme of reducing the freights for a time, till they have annihilated the American shipping, is to make the southern States pay dearly in the result for their credulity, and inattention to the general welfare of the States of which they are members. The distinction between apprentices and mariners, is palpably designed to counteract a most essential mode of raising American seamen; and to prevent our continuing to enjoy that trifling share of the trade to Britain, which we now possess. To these observations may be added the following-That if the carrying trade was secured to American citizens, the profits thereon, even at the present low freights, are sufficient to allure monied men to place their cash in shipping-and as a proof that Great-Britain cannot afford to carry our produce on the same terms that America can, if the trade was secured to herself, the following example is adduced as demonstrative." At this point the person who paraphrased the latter part of Document II cited the example of profits accruing on the two voyages of the ship Friends, but gave her measurement as "upwards of 300 tons," deleted her name, and made other minor changes in phraseology, all for the obvious purpose of concealing the identity of the true author of the letter to Josiah Parker. 18 It is doubtful whether anything published in the Gazette of the United States during the period of Jefferson's understanding with Fenno was as offensive to the pro-British mercantile group of New York as this direct attack on British policy, and it is quite possible that this was the final stimulus needed by Hamilton to bring that alliance to an end. The timing of the publication, the discreet editing which omitted the allusion to the dependence of southern merchants on those of Britain, and the medium in which it appeared prove beyond doubt that the letter to Parker was employed by Jefferson and Madison in this continuing effort in behalf of American commerce and shipbuilding. That both men were implicated is shown by the fact that the only extant copies of that letter are in the hand of a clerk in the department of state, one of these copies being retained in Jefferson's personal files and the other in Madison's. It is plausible to suppose that, since Jefferson was at this time selecting extracts from the Gazette de Leide and having his clerks translate them for Fenno's Gazette, it was he who prepared and transmitted these extracts from the anonymous letter, 17 The extract in both instances comprises that part of the text of Document I indicated in note 1 to that document. 18 The text of Document I paraphrased here is that part indicated in note 2 to that document.

[ 519 ]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 though of course this may have been done by Parker himself or by Madison. But, deeply committed as Jefferson and Madison were to a policy favoring those nations in treaty with the United States, the question raised by Maclay remains. Why, if Madison intended to return again and again to his "exceptionable" propositions, did he allow the tonnage bill to go through so unobtrusively on 24 June without making a stand at that time? A possible clue lies in the fact that the coalition on the assumption and residence bills was negotiated around 20 June. 19 The warm debates that Madison aroused in the week following the passage of the tonnage bill and the accompanying newspaper articles showing that he was zealously contending for commercial interests may have been a noise deliberately manufactured to offset the silence that he exhibited in the debates on assumption. A move to discharge the committee from further consideration of the bill on trade and navigation was defeated on 29 June and Madison, as noted above, argued his final propositions on the next day. That was the last to be heard of the trade and navigation bill at this session. It had come under discussion the moment assumption had met its first narrow defeat, and it evaporated without manifest accomplishment the moment the storm broke over the residence bill. One of the remarkable facts about the letter to Josiah Parker is the care taken by everyone concerned to conceal its authorship. The author himself requested such caution, and his friend in London enjoined secrecy in respect to his part of the communication. Contrary to custom, both Jefferson and Madison failed to docket their file copies of the letter; and whoever prepared the second extract, disguised as a letter to Fenno's Gazette, deliberately altered the text for the obvious purpose of concealing the identity of the brig Friends and hence that of her owner. The letter shows clearly that its writer was a man of substance, a merchant-shipowner of long experience in the Virginia trade, a thoughtful and even astute observer of the effects of policy on commerce, and a man possessing his own convictions on the subject. These facts, and other internal evidence, point to the virtual certainty that he was a Scot who had been in the Virginia trade for at least a quarter of a century. The unusual precautions taken to conceal his identity in a New York newspaper, and particularly the effort to obscure the distinguishing features of his brig, suggest that he was also known in that city. Since the outcries of the Virginia merchant-shipowners had been a matter of public record for some five years, with the names of the prominent leaders proclaimed in petitions, in legislative records, and in newspapers,20 the object of concealment would seem pointless unless a knowledge of the identity of the writer would tend to injure either the proposed legislation or the writer himself. Hence the effort to clothe the letter in an 19 Brant, Madison, III, 313-4; Malone, Jefferson, II, 299. For TJ's relations with Fenno, see under 20 Mch. 1790. 20 See, for example, the letter of Thomas Brown, Portsmouth, to Gov. Beverly Randolph, 14 Feb. 1787, protesting that "it is well known that all other Nations are doing everything in their power to restrain our Carrying Trade, and • . • every merchant in the State, who owns an American Bottom, is actually sinking money by them"; cvsP, IV, 238-40; T. J. Wertenbaker, Norfolk, p. 90-4.

[520 ]

EDITORIAL NOTE impenetrable anonymity suggests that, in addition to the ab(;)Ve characteristics, the writer had been in exile from Virginia as a loyalist during the Revolution. The only person who seems to fill all of these requirements is the astute Scot who had been in Virginia trade at Norfolk since 1757, who reputedly knew more about it than any other person, and to whom Jefferson, on the eve of his going to Europe in 1784 to negotiate commercial treaties, had turned for informationNeil Jamieson. It is almost certain that he was the author of the letter to Josiah Parker, a member of congress from Norfolk. It is indeed possible that the Norfolk address was merely a disguise for a letter prepared in New York in 1790 for a purpose not dissimilar to that for which Jamieson's aid had been enlisted six years earlier. Thus A.B.'s invitation to commercial men to express their views and the anonymous extracts in Fenno's Gazette may have been integral parts of a concerted plan which a city "steeped in Anglicism" would scarcely have applauded as coming in part from a Virginia trader who had resided there for some years. Neil Jamieson was a sea-captain who came to Virginia in the late 1750's and established the firm of Neil Jamieson & Co., being connected with John Glassford & Co. of Glasgow. He was described by one of his own agents as ''the most perfect master of trade in the bay," and before the revolution his vessels (some of which were quite large) were so active in the tobacco trade with London and in the West Indies commerce that his sloops "could be seen in every river and almost every creek of tidewater Virginia and Maryland."21 He married a Virginian, Fernella Ellegood, on 8 Sep. 1761, and became one of the executors of the estate of her father in 1768. This marriage established a connection with the Parker family of Norfolk-another reason for supposing that he was the author of the letter to Josiah Parker.22 In 1770 he was a member of the committee of merchants for Norfolk and Princess Anne county "to take under their consideration the general state of this colony," and was a signer of the Virginia non-importation resolutions. He was a signer of the Association of 1774, and his was one of the firms to which nine chests of tea were consigned on the brigantine Mary and Jane and, with his consent, were refused. 23 As a member of the Norfolk Committee of Observation, he was one of those who voted censure of John Brown, Dr. Alexander Gordon, and others for violating the Association, urging merchants, planters and skippers to make such men "feel their indignation by breaking of all kinds of dealings" with them. 24 But early in 1776 Jamieson himself became the target of Virginia indignation. Purdie's Virginia Gazette of 2 Feb. 1776 charged that intercepted letters from Jamieson revealed that he 21 Same, p. 47; Lower Norfolk County Antiquary, m, 49; WMQ, 1st. ser., xm, 67, 69, 103,288. 22 Lower Norfolk County Antiquary, m, 49; WMQ, 1st. ser., xm, 67, 69, 103, 288. 28For TJ's early connection with Jamieson, see Vol. I: 52·5; Va. Gazette [Purdie], 28 June 1770; WMQ, 1st. ser., v, 246; Va. Gazette [Purdie & Dixon], 30 June, 25 Aug. 1774. 24 T. J. Wertenbaker, Norfolk, p. 55, 57, 68, 72; Va. Gazette (Pinkney), 16 Feb., 13 Mch. 1775.

[521 ]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 had "taken Lord Dunmore's bills for 5000 1. sterling, and ordered goods to be imported to Norfolk, there to be sold by a young man, to be associated into his company for that purpose, and that his own name may be concealed; and hath packed up all his effects, and put them on board of a vessel, ready, in case of necessity, to haul off, under protection of the men of war; with other passages shewing him to be a steady friend to that arch-enemy of America." By that time Jamieson had fled in his brigantine Fincastle to join Dunmore. His property was destroyed in the burning of Norfolk and his lands confiscated. He went to New York and, like other exiled merchants having connections with Scottish firms, followed the royal troops from place to place, successively setting up stores in Philadelphia, Savannah, and Norfolk. Following the invasion of Virginia by Leslie in 1780, he built two dwellings at Norfolk, in addition to seven storehouses and other structures, only to have these confiscated in 1783. After the surrender of Cornwallis he went to New York and was there joined by his son, Neil Jamieson, Jr., who had been master of the Catherine in 1767 and was now in trade with his father. It was there that Jefferson consulted Jamieson in 1784 for advice about American trade. 25 The author of the letter from London quoted in Jamieson's letter to Parker has not been identified, but there are good reasons for believing that he was Joshua Johnson of Maryland. Johnson was born in 1742, entered a counting-house in London, and became a tobacco merchant of importance. At the outbreak of the war, he took up residence in Nantes and served there as agent for Maryland as a purchaser of supplies. His family was an old one in Maryland and had been prominent in England. One of his brothers was Thomas Johnson, a friend of Washington and successor to the popular and respected Robert Eden as governor of Maryland. The business, legal, and social connections of the family in pre-revolutionary Annapolis were such as to make it virtually certain that Joshua Johnson would have known Governor Eden and hence that, in the post-war years in London, he may have come to know Eden's brother V\-Tilliam, first baron Auckland, head of the British intelligence. If this conjecture is well founded, it may help to explain why the author of the letter from London could give assurance that his information came "from the very best authority." In that case, since the letter to Parker arrived at the time that Jefferson was considering the appointments of consuls to foreign ports, the name 25 Robert A. East, Business enterprise in the American revolutionary era, New York, 1938, p. 239; T. J. Wertenbaker, Norfolk, p. 82; Neil Jamieson Papers, DLC; Va. Gazette (Clarkson Be Davis), 15 July 1780; VMHB, XVTI, 168, 250. Neil Jamieson, Jr., married Fanney Whitehurst of Princess Anne in 1791, and was recorded in that county as a landowner in 1811; Lower Norfolk County Antiquary, IV, 126; v, 92; Va. Gazette (Purdie Be Dixon), 3 Apr., 4 June, and 29 Oct. 1767; Vol. 7: 365-75. Jamieson continued after 1784 to forward letters and newspapers to TJ in Paris.-The Editors are indebted to Mr. William J. Van Schreeven, Archivist of Virginia, for searching registers of ships and other records in Richmond, and to Mrs. Dorothy S. Eaton for searching the Neil Jamieson Papers in the Library of Congress in an effort to identify Jamieson as the owner of the brig Friends, a fact which would have conclusively established his authorship of the letter. On this vessel, see Document I, note.

[522 J

I. NEIL JAMIESON TO JOSIAH PARKER

of the writer of a letter having access to such sources of information would unquestionably have occurred to him as being worthy of consideration for the London post. There is no evidence that Joshua Johnson, who was ultimately appointed and to whom Jefferson made it plain that obtaining political intelligence in England was to be a primary function of the office, was at this time being considered for the post. On the contrary, others with strong pretensions had been named. Alexander Donald, whom Jefferson respected as a merchant and friend, had asked for the post for himself. Robert Morris had recommended Walter Stone of Maryland. John Adams had suggested Thomas Barclay, whom Jefferson also knew and respected. And Josiah Parker himself had recommended John Cowper of Portsmouth. There is evidently no record that anyone had advanced the name of Johnson or that the appointment came to him as anything but a surprise. Johnson accepted the post and performed useful intelligence services, doing so in the same manner that William Eden employed-that is, by the use of secret service funds. 26 In view of these facts it is quite likely that the most important result of the letter of Neil Jamieson was to draw the name of Joshua Johnson to the attention of the secretary of state. The name was evidently not in the letter as transcribed by Taylor, but Jefferson would have had no difficulty in learning the identity of one who was a substantial merchant in London, who revealed himself to be friendly to American commerce, and who at the same time had access to high sources of official information in England.

I. [N eil Jamieson] to Josiah Parker Norfolk 18th. June 1790 DR. SIR Finding a disposition in some enlightened members of Congress, and particularly in your two worthy Colleagues, Mr. Madison and Mr. Jay, to give such encouragement to American Shipping as will soon appear to be absolutely necessary (unless a majority of the Legislature should think the carrying business and all the advantages, riches, and consequence, resulting therefrom, unworthy their attention, and mean to throw 'em away upon Gt. Britain) I have made free to address you on the subject, confiding in your 26 Edward S. Delaplaine, Thomas Johnson, New York, 1927, p. 14, 551, where Joshua Johnson was described (1842) by a member of the family who evidently did not know him as "a weak, vain man, fond of great people, and impoverished by an ambitious and extravagant wife" (the estimate is of dubious validity); Archives of Maryland, XXI (1901), 7, 15·4, 140; XLm (1924), 224, 445, 478; XLVII (1950) 79; XLvm (1951), 522; D. M. and W. R. Quynn, "Letters of a Maryland Medical Student in Philadelphia and Edinburgh (1782-1784)," Maryland Historical Magazine, XXI (1956), 190, 194, 196, 201, 202, 204, 205, 215, and 215. Joshua Johnson was the father of Louisa Catherine Johnson, who became the wife of John Quincy Adams. See also Donald to TJ, 2 July 1790, and, for other recommendations for the consular post at London, under 21 July 1790; also, TJ to Johnson, 7 Aug. 1790; Johnson to TJ, 2 Nov. 1790.

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AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790

good sense and prudence, not to make an improper use of any information I may be able to afford thereon, and that you will keep it entirely to yourself if you deem it unworthy communication. First. In confirmation of Mr. Page's observation. "I believe it the interest of the Southern States that Ship building should be encouraged to the utmost extent in the United States. The fine timber they have would then be sold to advantage in the form of Ships, instead of being destroyed or thrown away under the name of lumber, or in trifling staves: much I know has been destroyed in Virginia, much wasted in staves. Sir, it is their interest that their Sister States should carry for them instead of foreigners." I beg leave to ask, on the supposition of the Southern States determining that American Shipping and the carrying trade was unworthy their attention, what inconvenience might they not experience, what loss would they not suffer, in case of a war between Great Britain and France, their produce for several years at least, until American Ships could be built, must either be transported to Europe in English, or French bottoms at a war freight, or by neutrals at nearly the same freight? I would also ask when the rise in freight becomes an object to a man to invest his money in vessels, where are the seamen to come from, every power in Europe becoming every day more jealous of her own? Is it not evident that if it was generally perceived that Congress was steady, and determined to support the Shipping interest, we should in a few years have a sufficiency to carry half our produce to market and in case of a rupture between Great Britain and France could soon build as many as would transport the whole to the most eligible market? I should not have troubled you with this letter was I not conscious it was in my power, and of course my duty, to furnish you with some information on this subject, founded on facts worthy your attention as a Legislator. You are not unacquainted with the situation of the lower parts of this State respecting timber suitable for Ship building, but as my business has led me to pay more attention thereto than perhaps any other man in the State, I can tell you from experience that the quality is excellent, but diminishing very fast in most places convenient for Ship building. In 1765. I was supercargo of the Ship Hicks of 500 Hhds. built at Newtown in Princess Ann, and then eighteen year old, and had never been repaired; there is now a vessel of 400 Hhds. burthen belonging to Whitehaven I'm informed is sound and good, that I had built by Mr. Hope at Hamp[524 ]

I. NEIL JAMIESON TO JOSIAH PARKER

ton in the year 1775. The above facts are sufficient to establish my assertion respecting the quality. I have this day examined two quarterly returns from the Collector's Office of this Port, the first commencing the 17th. Augt. and ending the 31st. December 1789. The other commencing the 1st. January and ending the 31st. March 1790, by which I find that 8,012,600 Staves and heading have been shipped in the above time, 60,500 of which only was Shipped to the French West Indies -the rest of coarse white oak lumber, chiefly, nearly equal to 16,000 tons, and 20,000 Trees, sufficient to build 134 vessels of two hundred tons each. The quantity of the produce shipped in the above time I calculate at 41,166 tons a 60/ this currency pro ton (a low freight) is £123,493. The value of the produce shipped, estimated by the Collector's return 769,781 dolrs. or £230,910, not twice the amount of the freight. I make no doubt you know how scarce good white oaks are become contiguous to the water, the difference between hawling one mile or seven, is perhaps equal to twenty shillings pr ton. There has not been a square-rigg'd vessel built in this District since the adoption of the present Constitution except a small Brig by Mr. Hope, and the Brig I lately built of 600 Hhds. I am about to set on two others of nearly the same size, but unless the present policy of Great Britain can be counteracted by Congress, perhaps I had better set fire to them; if American bottoms are well supported many Merchants will follow my example of building, (in short I shall probably be concerned with many therein). If not, in a few years we shall have neither Timber, Carpenters, nor Sailors: the following extract which you may rely on as fact, proves my last assertion. ["Since I wrote you last I have s who I informed you was debeen in London about the U tained here by the Collector, he alledging that she was not navigated according to law; as you are much concerned in American vessels I think it necessary to give you a particular account of this transaction, and also to inform you of some very alarming proceedings going forward on this side the Atlantic against American Shipping in general. You are acquainted that the british navigation Act requires that the master and three fourths of the mariners on board all foreign vessels trading to England be subjects of the Country the Ships belong to. Now it is necessary that the Captain and three fourths of the mariners of every American vessel coming to England should be subjects of America at the time Independence s arrived here she was granted by England. When the U had fourteen people on board, out of which number the Captain [525 ]

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790

and ten of the people were really Americans, the remaining three were Englishmen who had become citizens since the war. Now according to the present construction of the british navigation Act, she had one more real American on board than the law requires, but five of the above number were apprentices, which the Collector would not allow to be numbered as mariners; as such the vessel was detained till he had the opinion of the Commissioners of the Customs, but this being too difficult a question for them to Resolve, it was referred to the Attorney General, and after detaining the Vessel seven weeks with her cargo on board, he gave in his opinion that she was navigated according to Law. I wish to remark that apprentices on board English vessels are always allowed to be mariners by the Collector, Underwriters and every other person. When an American vessel arrives here the Collector has all the Crew up to the Custom House, and makes them swear where they were born, how old they are, how and where they hcroe been employed €!fc. In short it is a species of Inquisition which the Collector has instituted against the Americans only, as he makes no such enquiry of Vessels belonging to any other foreign nation, and I'm sorry to add that this partial conduct of the Collector's is approved by the people in power; for I saw a letter from Lord Hawkesbury who particularly mentioned it. This letter was in answer to one wrote him by the merchants of this place, desiring something might be done for the benefit of british Shipping, to counteract the 10 pC. discount on all goods imported into America, in American vessels; he recommends that the Merchants here should reduce the freights of their vessels, which he says would be only for a- short time, and that by their exerting themselves against American Vessels, and by the Collector's being particularly strict with them, in a short time it must have a good effect, and that as soon as he had gained the necessary information in the business required, he promised something should be done. I have also been informed that the Merchants here have wrote out to America giving positive orders not to ship any goods on board American Vessels, and without something be done in this business the sooner you set them on fire the better. You will also take notice that a british subject becoming a Citizen of America since the war cannot hold any part of an American vessel.]lWhatever may be the effect of the above information I beg my name may not be mentioned." The above facts being undoubted and coming from the very best authority, we have only to draw the conclusions naturally resulting therefrom. [526 ]

I. NEIL JAMIESON TO JOSIAH PARKER

The first and most obvious of which is, that the people of Great Britain from the Merchant to the Minister, foreseeing the advantages that will accrue to America from a proper attention and support of her shipping interest, and concluding that she will attend thereto, are determined if possible to prevent it, and throw every obstacle they can in way to effect it. The second is the deep laid scheme of reducing the freights for a time, 'till they have annihilated the American shipping, so as to make the Southern States pay dearly for their selfishness, credulity, and inattention to the general welfare of the States of which they are members. The third is the attempt to consider apprentices as no part of the Crew and thereby counteract the only mode we have of raising American Seamen, and reaping that trifling share of the trade to Britain which [we] possess. The fourth is, that Congress is not to expect any exertions from the Southern merchants any more than from the Southern Delegates to counteract the attempts of the british merchants, as nine tenths of the former are dependent upon the latter. I shall conclude with observing that if the carrying trade was secured to American subjects, the profits thereon, even at the present low freights, are sufficient to allure monied men to place their cash in Shipping, and as a proof that Great Britain cannot afford to carry our produce on the same terms that American can, if the trade was secured to herself. I give you the following example and proof. [The Brig Friends is allowed to be as strong a vessel as ever entered the Thames, and sails fast. She measures 341 tons, carries 600 Hhds. and cost £3253.13.2Y2 this currency. Having the advantage of a freight to Europe as soon as fitted, she earned on her first voyage £965.14.10 Sterlg. On her second she will probably earn 970 do. That's £1935.14.10 sterlg. within the year, and if as well employed may be a clear ship in three years. A British ship of same burthen and as good, would cost at Bristol, or Whitehaven, or London thirteen pounds to thirteen guineas pro ton, that is £5660.4 this currency. I have but 14 people and 5 of them apprentices, and can sail on as low terms as any british ship. Reckoning the interest and insurance on each, you will find it will take double the time to clear a british ship that it will to clear an American; and when the latter are built faithfully, out of young seasoned timber, I verily believe they will last near or full as 10ng.F Does not the extract I have transcribed for your information strike you with the propriety of the following remark of Mr. Madi[527 J

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790 son? "There are cases in which it is better to do nothing, than not do a great deal." I am very respectfully Dear Sir Your most humble Servant, Tr (DLC: Madison Papers); in the hand of George Taylor; without signature or endorsement. PrC of Tr (DLC); endorsed by TJ: "British commerce." MR. PAGE'S OBSERVATION was made in the house in the debate of 11 May 1790 (Annals, n, 1710). The ship HICKS, "John Smith, from Whitehaven and Dublin, with 55 parcels of European goods, and 128 passengers, indented servants and convicts" was recorded as having entered on 4 Nov. 1766 (Va. Gazette [Purdie & Dixon], 8 Jan. 1767). A ship FRIENDS was owned by Neil Jamieson ca. 1768-9 (same, 7 Jan. 1768 and 17 Aug. 1769); she may have been the vessel named in an undated account in the Jamieson Papers (DLC) for work on her done by Christopher Todd, carpenter, and in

another undated document ( same) as having been condemned in Jamaica. A brig Friend-almost certainly the one referred to above as FRIENDS-waS announced in the Norfolk and Portsmouth Chronicle, 8 May 1790, as having arrived from London on 3 May. 1 The matter in brackets (supplied) constitutes that part of the letter appearing in Gazette of the United States, 30 June 1790, and in Daily Advertiser, 1 July 1790. 2 The matter in brackets (supplied) constitutes, in addition to the paraphrased portion of the letter quoted in Editorial Note above, that part of the letter quoted in Gazette of the United States, 3 July 1790.

II. Arrangements between English and Southern Merchants [June 1790?] The American Merchant knows perfectly the different manufactures of Great Britain, the nearness of them to the Sea ports, and he is particular in ordering from Bristol, Liverpool or London, the articles which are manufactured there or in the neighbourhood thereof, and exported on the best terms. The American Merchant is very explicit in his demands for Goods, he details every thing with the greatest care: and his Correspondent in Great Britain complies with his orders with the most pointed exactness. It rarely ever happens but that the English Merchant sends the kind, quality and quantity of Goods, and the exact proportion as they are ordered. The following are the tenus on which they agree mutually to form their Commercial connections. 1st. Twelve months after the date of the Invoice of the merchandize shipped by the British merchant to the American, if it be not paid, it bears an interest of five per cent and is charged accordingly in the Account Current, and perhaps noted in the next Invoice. 2d. If the English merchant pays ready money for any of the [528 ]

II. ENGLISH AND SOUTHERN MERCHANTS

merchandize he immediately adds five per cent on them (the interest of a year) in the Invoice which he sends out noting the same to his correspondent. The same is to be observed if any of the merchandize is bought on Credit for a shorter period than one year, that is, if the British merchant purchases at four months credit he charges eight months interest in the Invoice. 3d. The five per cent is not only paid on the price of the merchandize shipped but on the expences of shipping the same from the date. 4th. The Commission on all purchases is ........ 5PCt. on the freight . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21;2 on the payments and receipts .. 1;2 on insurance .............. 1;2 For recovering in case of loss or damage ................ 21;2 5th. On the exports from America consigned to the British Merchant ..................................... 21;2 As to the Tobacco the American merchant allows 1;2 per Cent on the quantity for which security is given at the Custom House; if the Tobacco is sold in England the British Merchant.receives 21;2 on the sales after deducting the duty, and if it is re-exported he has 21;2 on the whole. On American merchandise re-shipped to some other market 1 per Cent. For pointing out to any ship arriving from America the best market. 1 6th. Once every year the Account Current is made out by the English Merchant and sent to the American and the balance bears an interest of five per Cent. If within four months after the receipt of the Account Current, the American Merchant does not transmit his observations or his approbation, it is taken for granted the account is true. 7th. The Americans generally bind their Heirs, Executors or Administrators, in case of death to remit to the British Merchant the full amount of the balance due from him, and in case of any disagreement, to have the matter decided by arbitrators chosen in the place where the British merchant resides. These arrangements are of long standing, and the Planters accustomed to similar credit; and it will be difficult if not impracticable to form any Houses here, French or Dutch, which will be able to divert the present channel of Trade, unless they go on the same or a plan similar to it. Credit the Planters must have, and [529

J

AMERICAN COMMERCIAL POLICY 1790

consequently those who can give to them will be called on to supply their demands. One would suppose from the present current of opinion on the Commercial state of the Carolina's and Georgia, the Planters were ruined, and the merchants would be bankrupt. Those who are acquainted in the Country know the opinion is hazarded. The Planters although in debt are the most respectable and numerous body in the three States, their fortunes have been made by their industry, and they well know the necessity of supporting their reputation with the merchant and the merchant's reputation with his correspondent in Great Britain. The failure of a Crop is unavoidable; the merchant knows he must in such a year supply the Planter on Credit, and depend on being credited by his Correspondent. The manufacturers, when these failures are announced to them, with readiness Credit the British merchant, on interest, to enable him to credit his American Correspondent: and this rotund of mutual credit seldom or never fails to enrich the manufacturer, merchant and Planter. There are instances where the extension of Credit has been injurious; a merchant to avoid it should be acquainted with all his debtors, their abilities and prospects. The Scotch merchants understood the importance of this well, and to attain it in Virginia and North Carolina, established stores in almost every respectable neighbourhood. French or Dutch Houses for want of this necessary knowledge, and being unacquainted with the English Language, will long labour under difficulties surmountable only by their forming connections with the most respectable families in this Country who will be a constant match over the debtors, their abilities and prospects. The Americans are not many of them brought up regularly to Trade, nor have they Capitals to embark in it; the first difficulty must be removed by connecting them with those who are and the latter by Crediting them for their stock. PrC (DLC: TJ Papers, 55: 941619); in hand of George Taylor; at head of text: "Arrangements between the Commercial Houses in England, the two Carolina's and Georgia"; opposite this in the margin, and also repeated there opposite third paragraph from the end, is the letter "B"; endorsed by TJ: "Arrangements between English and American Merchants"; undated and unsigned. The fact that this is in Taylor's hand, added to internal evidence, sug-

gests that this document may also have been compiled by Neil Jamieson and transmitted to Josiah Parker about this time. The pages of this document are intermingled with those of PrC of the letter to Parker above, and may have been so from the beginning; if so, this would be additional evidence of their being contemporaneous. 1

[530 ]

Thus in MS; no percentage given.

From Tench Coxe [New York], 19 June 1790. "Isle of France coffee can be procured in Philadelphia for lSd. or one fifth of a dollar lilt pound, in 100 Th. packages. If TJ wishes one at that price, he will obtain it. ''West India coffee is sold at l5d. and l6d." RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 20 June 1790 and so recorded in

SJL.

From George Washington Saturday June 19th. 1790 The enclosed Letters and documents from Mr. Gouvr. Morris are sent for the perusal of the Secretary of State. The private letters from the Marquis de la Fayette and Mr. Payne he also gives Mr. Jefferson a sight of; because there are some ideas in the latter which are new, and in the former, general information respecting the Affairs of France, which, by being compar'd with other Accounts may (though not of very late date, but from the respectibility of the authority) enable one to form a better judgment of the situation of things in that Country, than they could do from any single relation of them. RC (DLC). Not recorded in SJL. Enclosures: (1) Gouverneur Morris to Washington, 1 May 1790, printed below with notes of its enclosures. ( 2) Lafayette to Washington, 17 Mch. 1790, delayed by being transmitted to London in Paine's care, reporting that "Our revolution is getting on as well as it can with a Nation that has swallowed up liberty all at once, and is still liable to mistake licentiousness for freedom"; that they were "still pestered by two parties, the Aristocratic that is panting for a counter revolution, and the factious which aims at the division of the Empire, and destruction of all authority and perhaps of the lifes of the reigning branch"; but that they had made "an admirable, and almost incredible destruction of all abuses, prejudices, etc. etc. that every thing not directly useful to, or coming from the people has been levelled-that in the topographical, moral, political situation of France we have made more changes in ten month than the most sanguine patriot could have imaginedthat our internal troubles and anarchy are much exagerated-and that upon

the whole this Revolution, in which nothing will be wanting but energy of governement just as it was in America, will propagate implant liberty and make it flourish throughout the world" (text printed in Letters of Lafayette to Washington' 1777-1799, ed. Louis Gottschalk, privately printed, New York, 1944, p. 347-8). With this letter Lafayette transmitted a picture of the Bastille "just as it looked a few days after I had ordered its demolition, with the main kea of that fortress." These he offered in tribute "as a son to my adoptive father, as an aid de camp to my General, as a Missionary of Liberty to its Patriarch." ( 3 ) Thomas Paine to Washington, London, 1 May 1790, transmitting the key to the Bastille and drawing of it from Lafayette as the "early trophy of the Spoils of Despotism and the first ripe [fru]its of American principles transplanted into [Eur]ope." Paine added: "When he mentioned to me the present he intended you my heart leaped with Joy. It is something so truly in Character that no remarks can illustrate it, and is more happily expressive of his remembrance of his

[531 ]

19 JUNE 1790 American friends than any letters can convey. That the principles of America opened the Bastile is not to be doubted, and therefore the Key comes to the right place." Paine urged Washington to congratulate the king and queen of France and the National Assembly on the example being given Europe, and added: "I returned from France to London about five Weeks ago, and I am engaged to return to Paris when the Constitution shall be proclaimed and to carry the American Flag in the procession. I have not the least doubt of the final and cofupleat success of the French Revolution. Little Ebbings and fiowings, for and against the natural companions of revolutions, sometimes appear, but the full current of it, is, in my opinion, as fixed as the Gulph Stream.-I have manufactured a Bridge (a single Arch) of one hundred and ten feet span, and five feet high from the Cord of the Arch. It is now on board a vessel coming from Yorkshire to London, where it is to be erected. I see nothing yet to dissapoint my hopes

of its being advantageous to me. It is this only which keeps me [in] Europe, and happy shall I be when I shall have it in my power to return to America.-I have not heard of Mr. Jefferson since he sailed except of his arrival" (RC in DLC: Washington Papers; addressed and endorsed). The announcement of the presentation of the key of the Bastille "as a glorious token of triumphant liberty over despotic oppression" was published in the (N.Y.) Daily Advertiser, 14 June 1790, from a London paper, but the key itself was brought later and formally presented to Washington early in Aug.; New-York Journal, 13 Aug. 1790; Washington to Paine, 10 Aug. 1790; to Lafayette, 11 Aug. 1790; Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, XXXI, 80, 85. At a dinner given to Washington at Baltimore on his return home the 12th toast was: "May the keys of all tyrannic prisons follow that of the Bastile" ([N.Y.] Daily Advertiser, 17 Sep. 1790).

ENe LOS U R E

Gouverneur Morris

to

George Washington

London 1. May 1790 Herewith I have the Honor to transmit a Duplicate of my last Letter of the thirteenth of April. Not having heard from the Duke of Leeds I wrote him a Note on the nineteenth, of which a Copy is enclosed marked No. 1. To this I received no Reply, wherefore on the twenty ninth I addressed him again by a Letter of which a Copy is enclosed marked No.2. This was deliverrd at his Office Whitehall between eleven and twelve in the Morning of the twenty ninth, and at half past ten in the Evening the Letters were sent to me of which No. 3 and 4. are Copies. You will observe that his Letter No.3 is dated the 28th. and of Course takes no Notice of that to which it is in Fact the Answer; but the Style and general Complection as well as the Circumstances attending the Delivery of it, clearly shew that it was not written until the Evening of the twenty ninth. I might, in Reply, have made some Strictures upon the Information that I was in Holland s.c. s.c. I might also have contrasted the Expressions of good Faith with the Conduct of Administration, and have observed upon the Idea that the United States were bound in the most solemn Manner, while from the subsequent Parts of his Letter it would seem that Great Britain is not bound at all, or at most but loosely. There is also a Confusion of Language which resembles the Stammering of one who endeavors to excuse a Misdeed which he resolves to SIR

[532 J

19 JUNE 1790 commit. Thus on the Supposition that a Completion of the Treaty by us is impossible he insists that we shall compleat it or make Compensation. The Expressions in the last Clause are if possible more vague than all the Rest, and the Reply might have been proportionately more pointed. My Letter of Yesterday of which No.5 is a Copy contains Nothing of what is just stated, altho perhaps it ought to have noticed some Part. I must rely on your Kindness Sir both to interpret favorably what I have done and to excuse my omissions. I thought it best to heap Coals 'of Fire on their Heads, and thereby either bring them into our Views or put them most eminently in the wrong. It was moreover my wish to draw forth specific Propositions, because these will admit of Discussion, or else if manifestly unjust, they can not only be repelled but they will serve to shew a predetermined Breach of Faith by them which will justify whatever Conduct we may afterwards find it proper to adopt. If as is not improbable he should give no Answer or one so vague as to mean Nothing I shall pursue according to Circumstances my Object of compelling them to speak plainly or refuse absolutely. It seems pretty clear that they wish to evade a commercial treaty but not peremptorily to reject it, and therefore I have construed into Rejection his Graces abstruse Language leaving him the Option to give it a different Interpretation. I do not expect that he will, tho he may perhaps write an explanatory Comment more unintelligible than the last. I have some Reason to beleive that the present Administration intend to keep the Posts, and withhold Payment for the Negroes. If so they will color their Breach of Faith by the best Pretexts in their Power. I incline to think also that they consider a Treaty of Commerce with America as being absolutely unnecessary, and that they are perswaded they shall derive all Benefit from our Trade without Treaty. It is true that we might lay them under Restrictions in our Ports but they beleive that an Attempt of that Sort would be considered by one Part of America as calculated by the other for private Emolument, and not for the general Good. The Merchants here look on it as almost impossible for us to do without them; and it must be acknowleged that past Experience and the present Situation of neighbouring Countries go far to justify that Opinion. Whether the Ministers, then, shall act according to their own Ideas, or consult mercantile People they will equally (I think) repel Advances from us, and therefore it seems more prudent to lay the Foundations of future Advantage, than attempt to grasp at present Benefit. I will not pretend to suggest any Measures for the Adoption of Congress whose wisdom and whose Sense of national Honor will certainly lead them to act properly when the proper Moment shall present itself. It will naturally strike every Mind that while the Legislature of this Country continue to invest the executive Authority with great Power respecting the American Commerce the Administration here will have Advantages in Treaty which can only be ballanced by similar Confidence on the Part of Congress in the executive of America. But very much will I think depend upon the Situation of France. If appearances there should change and so much Vigor be infused into

( 533 J

19 JUNE 1790 the Government as would enable it to call forth the national Efforts in Support of their Interest and Honor, a great Revolution would be produced in the Opinions here. From the Conduct of the aristocratic Hierarchy in the low Countries who are instigated and supported by Prussia I have long been thoroughly convinced that the Alternative of War or the most ignominious Terms of Peace would be proposed to the imperial Courts. Counting upon the absolute Nullity of France, and supposing that this Country can at any Moment intimidate that into abject Submission Prussia and Poland will I think join themselves to Turkey and Sweden against Russia and Austria which are both exhausted and one of them dismembred. Probably the War will be commenced before this Letter reaches your Hands, and then Britain and Holland are to be the Umpires or rather Dictators of Peace. I have taken the Liberty to touch thus far upon the general System of European Politics, as it may tend to shew that for the present Great Britain will rather keep things in Suspense with us, being herself in a State of Suspense as to others. I will not go into Conjectures about the Events which will take Place upon the Continent. They will I beleive (as is usual) disappoint the Projectors; but be that as it may, our Affairs can derive no Advantage now, from what shall happen hereafter. I presume that a Dissolution of Parliament will take Place shortly, altho many of the best informed People think or at least say they think otherwise. But it is clear to my Mind that Administration will wish to have before them a Prospect of seven Years Stability to their System be that what it may, and they will not at the Moment of a general Election expose themselves to Criticism by any Act of doubtful Construction. This forms with them an additional Reason for being evasive in Regard to us. Perhaps there never was a Moment in which this Country felt herself greater and consequently it is the most unfavorable Moment to obtain advantageous terms from her in any Bargain. But this Appearance of Greatness is extremely fallacious. Their Revenue is not yet equal to their Expenditure. Money is indeed poured in upon them from all Quarters because of the distracted Situation of Affairs among their Neighbours, and hence their Stocks have risen greatly since the Peace so that they can borrow at an interest of four per Cent: but supposing they should not be obliged to engage in the War, still there are two Events either of which would overturn the Fabric of their Prosperity. If France establishes a solid System of Finance then Capitalists will prefer five per Cent with her to four per Cent from Britain, for all other things being equal there is no Shadow of Comparison between the real Resources of the two Countries. If France commits a Bankruptcy, the Disorders consequent thereon will doubtless be violent but the Storm once passed, she would then be able to make greater Exertion by her annual Resources than Britain could compass by every possible Anticipation of Credit. There is a middle Situation between Sinking and Swimming in which the french Finances may flounder on for some time to come; but even this State of wretchedness will produce rather Evil than Good to Great Britain; for she has already reaped all the Harvest which could be gathered from the Distress of her Neigh-

[534 ]

19 JUNE 1790 bour, and must necessarily loose the Benefit of the famous commercial Treaty in Proportion as the Resources of her Customer are cut off. Under all the various Contingencies which present themselves to my Contemplation and there are many which I will not trouble you with the Perusal of, it appears clearly that the favorable Moment for us to treat is not yet come. It is indeed the Moment for this Country and they seem determined to let it pass away. I must again entreat your Indulgence Sir for this lengthy and desultory Letter. Accept I pray you the Assurances of that Respect with which I have the Honor to be your most Gouv MORRIS obedient & humble Servant, RC (DLC: Washington Papers); in clerk's hand, signed by Morris. Enclosures (all clerk's copies, in DLC: Washington Papers) : ( 1) Morris, "froomes Hotel Covent Garden Monday 19th April 1790," to Duke of Leeds, reminding him "of what passed in Conversation on Monday the twenty eighth of March in Consequence of which Mr. Morris flattered himself with the Hope of hearing from his Grace at an early Period." (2) Leeds to Morris, 28 Apr. 1790, saying that he would not have delayed so long "returning an Answer to the Letter you received from General Washington" had he not heard Morris was in Holland; that "a Multiplicity of Engagements and • • • Illness" had prevented acknowledgment of his note; that ''The two Subjects contained in General Washington's Letter are indisputably of the highest Importance, and I can safely assure you that it has ever been the sincere and earnest Wish of this Country to fulfil her Engagements (Contracted by the Treaty of Peace) with the United States in a Manner consistent with the most scrupulous fidelity.-We cannot but lament every Circumstance which can have delayed the Accomplishment of those Engagements (comprized in the Treaty) to which those States were in the most solemn Manner bound and should the Delay in fulfilling them have rendered their final Completion impracticable, we have no Scruple in declaring our Object is to retard the fulfilling such subsequent Parts of the Treaty as depend entirely upon Great Britain, until Redress is granted to our Subjects upon the specific Points of the Treaty itself, or a fair and just Compensation obtained for the non-Performance of those Engagements on the part of the United States"; and that, on the subject of a commercial treaty, it was ''the sincere Wish of the british Government to cultivate a real and bona fide System of

friendly Intercourse with the United States, and that every measure which can tend really and reciprocally to produce that Object will be adopted with the utmost satisfaction by Great Britain." (3) Morris to Leeds, 29 Apr. 1790, saying that at their interview Leeds "seemed to be particularly pleased" with Washington's letter and promised to return it with his opinion after having copied it; that his subsequent silence led Morris to suppose that "this Affair might have been overlooked in the Attention to Matters of more apparent Moment"; and that he had reminded Leeds of it in a note to which no reply had been received. Morris COllcluded: "Permit me now my Lord to request that the President's Letter may be returned, and excuse me for expressing at the same time a Wish that you would enable me to transmit the Evidence of those friendly Dispositions towards America which you was pleased to express. It flows from the sincere Desire that more perfect Harmony may be established between the two Countries; and a Solicitude to obviate unpleasant Circumstances." (4) J. B. Burges to Morris, 29 Apr. 1790, saying that the Duke of Leeds, being prevented ''from coming to the Office by Indisposition," had directed him to convey the enclosed answer, together with that from Washington to Morris, and to express concern that indisposition, "added to a Multiplicity of important Business," had prevented an answer. (5) Morris to Leeds, 30 Apr. 1790, acknowledging receipt of the latter's letter of 28 Apr. 1790 "late last Evening" and adding: "I am happy to be assured by such respectable Authority 'that it has ever been the sincere and earnest Wish of this Country to fulfill her Engagements with the United States in a Manner consistent with the most scrupulous Fidelity.' This indeed had never admitted of Question in my

[535 J

20 JUNE 1790 Mind, because I could not harbor a Doubt of the national faith of Great Britain: and •.• sentiments of this kind induced the Congress at their last session to reject, by a considerable Majority, some Regulations which might have appeared hostile, and prove injurious to your commercial Interest. I am perfectly convinced from this, and from many other Circumstances, that the united States have a constant Determination to perform in the fullest Manner every stipulation which they have made: for this is not only in itself a moral Duty, peculiarly binding upon every Sovereign Power, but it is specially secured by that constitutional Compact which the People of America have made with each other. Since both Parties therefore have the best Dispositions, and are actuated by the purest Motives, I indulge my Lord, the Hope that every Obstacle to a complete Performance will be speedily removed. And in this Hope, without going into an Enquiry as to the Causes of former Delay, which might not perhaps tend towards Conciliation, I must entreat of your Graces Goodness to be informed in what Respects, and to what Degree you consider the final Completion of those Engagements to which the United States were bound, as having been rendered impracticable; for I must own that the Idea is new to my Conception.-The Candor with which your Grace avows the Intention to retard a fulfilment of such Parts of the Treaty as depend upon Great Britain, meets as it merits my utmost Acknowledgement.

I am very far from questioning the Policy, nor will I presume to doubt the Propriety of a Caution which is I trust =necessary, and which might indeed be unpleasant to the feelings of America, if they could be affected with punctilious Sentiment in the Discussion of national Interest. But it becomes my Duty to ask of you my Lord, the Nature and Extent of the Redress expected for your Subjects upon the specific Points of the Treaty; and in the supposed Case that this should have become impracticable, the Kind and Measure of Compensation to be required from us as preliminary to the fulfilment of those Stipulations which remain to be performed by you.I Trust that I am mistaken in that Part of your Graces Letter which relates to a commercial Treaty, because it really appears to me as expressive only of the wish to cultivate merely an amicable Intercourse founded on commercial good faith, and as implying some Disinclination to the securing of that Intercourse by the force of Treaty. I should be very unhappy to convey a false Interpretation of the Sentiments of this Government upon an Object of such Importance. This might be prejudicial to both Countries and therefore I shall indulge the Expectation that if I am wrong your Grace will have the Goodness to set me right." It is clear from Morris' quotation of Leeds' letter of 28 Apr. 1790 that the two parenthetical insertions in the clerk's copy of it were inserted by Morris himself for purposes of clarification.

To James Monroe New York June 20. 1790.

DEAR SIR

An attack of a periodical head-ach which tho violent for a few days only, yet kept me long in a lingering state, has hitherto prevented my sooner acknoleging the receipt of your favor of May 26. I hope the uneasiness of Mrs. Munroe and yourself has been removed by the reestablishment of your daughter. We have been in hopes of seeing her here, and fear at length some change in her arrangement for that purpose. Congress has been long embarrassed by two of the most irritating questions that ever can be raised among them, 1. the funding the public debt, and 2. the fixing on a more central residence. After [536 ]

20 JUNE 1790

exhausting their arguments and patience on these subjects, they have for some time been resting on their oars, unable to get along as to these businesses, and indisposed to attend to any thing else till they are settled. And in fine it has become probable that unless they can be reconciled by some plan of compromise, there will be no funding bill agreed to, our credit, (raised by late prospects to be the first on the exchange at Amsterdam, where our paper is above par) will burst and vanish, and the states separate to take care everyone of itself. This prospect appears probable to some well informed and well-disposed minds. Endeavours are therefore using to bring about- a disposition to some mutual sacrifices. The assumption of the state debts has appeared as revolting to several states as their non-assumption to others. It is proposed to strip the proposition of the injustice it would have done by leaving the states who have redeemed much of their debts on no better footing than those who have redeemed none; on the contrary it is recommended to assume a fixed sum allotting a portion of it to every state in proportion to it's census. Consequently every one will receive exactly what they will have to pay, or they will be exonerated so far by the general government's taking their creditors off their hands. There will be no injustice then. But there will be the objection still that Congress must then lay taxes for these debts which could have been much better laid and collected by the state governments. And this is the objection on which the accomodation now hangs with the Non-assumptioners, many of whom committed themselves in their advocation of the new constitution by arguments drawn from the improbability that Congress would ever lay taxes where the states could do it separately. These gentlemen feel the reproaches which will be levelled at them personally. I have been and still am of their opinion that Congress should always prefer letting the states raise money in their own way where it can be done. But in the present instance I see the necessity of yeilding for this time to the cries of the creditors in certain parts of the union, for the sake of union, and to save us from the greatest of all calamities, the total extinction of our credit in Europe. On the other subject it is proposed to pass an act fixing the temporary residence for 12. or 15 years at Philadelphia, and that at the end of that time it shall stand ipso facto and without further declaration transferred to Georgetown. In this way there will be something to displease and something to soothe every part of the Union, but New York, which must be contented with what she has had. If this plan of compromise does not take place, I fear one infinitely worse, an unqualified assumption and [ 537 }

20 JUNE 1790 the perpetual residence on the Delaware. The Pennsylvania and Virginia delegations have conducted themselves honorably and unexceptionably on the question of residence. Without descending to talk about bargains they have seen that their true interests lay in not listening to insidious propositions made to divide and defeat them, and we have seen them at times voting against their respective wishes rather than separate. In France the revolution goes on surely but slowly. On the rest of the Continent a league is formed between Prussia, Poland, Sweden and Turkey, and openly patronised by England and Holland against the two empires, one of which is convulsed by internal divisions. But the last packet brings still more interesting news. The day before the mail came away, a message was sent to the two houses by the king, complaining of the capture of two British ships at Nootka sound by the Spaniards under pretence of an exclusive right to that coast, that the king had demanded satisfaction, and in the mean time was arming, to enforce it. The houses unanimously promised support, and it was evident they would accept nothing short of an extensive renunciation from Spain as to her American pretensions. Perhaps she is determined to be satisfied with nothing but war and dismemberment of the Spanish empire and annihilation of her fleet.-Nor does her countenance towards us clear up at all. I flatter myself with being in Virginia in the autumn. The particular time depends on too many contingencies to be now fixed. I shall hope the pleasure of seeing yourself and Mrs. Monroe either in Albemarle or wherever else our routs may cross each other. Present me affectionately to her and to my good neighbors generally, and be assured of the great & sincere esteem of Dear Sir Your affectionate friend & humble servt., TH: JEFFERS[ON] RC ( NN); addressed: "Colo. James Monroe at Charlottesville to be left in the post-office Richmond"; franked, postmarked: "NEW-YORK .. june 20" and

"FREE." PrC (DLC).

From Richard Peters My DEAR SIR Belmont, June 20, 1790. I was happy that even the troublesome Affair of Capitaine brought me a Letter from you. I have written to Nourse to enquire into the Matter and inform me what to do. I thought I had done with the Bussiness when I sent him the Money thro' you and tho I had much Trouble in his Affair I have not received a Scrape of a [ 538 }

20 JUNE 1790

pen from him in Acknowledgment. I will however do all I can for him pour Amour de Dieu. I did not hear of your being in Philada. 'till the Morning you left it and called to see you after your Departure. I need not say I was much mortified at my Disappointment. I will tell Paddy's Votaries the Reason of their not being gratified with your Company. It would have added much to my pleasure. I drank very hard at their Feast, having finished 4 or 5 Bottles of Water which to one who likes Wine and dare not drink it is really hard drinking. I wish most sincerely the Affair of your residence was some how determined. The Transactions on that subject cast a Shade on the congressional Character. I had enough of it when I was in the old Congress and I see it is the same Pack of Cards shuffied and used for another Game. An odd Trick is often won I see by those who do not get the Rubber. If the Big Knife would give up Potowmack the Matter would be easily settled. But that you will say is as unreasonable as it would be to expect a Pennsilvanian to surrender at Discretion to New York. I very much wish you to come here, but knowing how uncertain the Thing is, I do not suffer myself to be sanguine. It therefore amuses me to see the Arguments our grave politicians bring forward when I know it will be determined by local Interests which will not suffer Intrigue and Management to grow rusty for Want of Use-Unless indeed the Vote should finally settle down for Germantown or Philada. In that Case all the World will see that Reason and the general Welfare have induced the Measure. You perceive I have not the least Taint of local Attachment. If I had private Reasons for desiring you to sojourn here it would be no more reprehensible than it is in one of your great Men who candidly acknowledges he has private Reasons against it. As to my Friend Gerry, who moved his Lodging's from a Street here because it was not a sweet one and took up his Quarters in our Shambles for the sake of the Air, I never expect his Judgment will be ripe enough to do right in this residence Bussiness. But I am sorry that Madison, who is a good corrigible Boy a little spoiled by bad Play Mates, should continue to play truant from us. Let me convey my affectionate Regards to him thro' a Minister of State which he will then receive not for the Value of them but the Channell thro' which they pass; as if a Man must drink Water, taking it out of a silver Mug at least gives a luxurious Shew to the homely Tipple. All this is Badinage, apart let me seriously assure you of the Sincerity and Truth with which I am your affectionate h'ble Servt., RICHARD PETERS

r

[539 ]

20 JUNE 1790

Pray send the enclosed to Nourse. Perhaps it wants suckling. If you have Leisure you may read my Letter to Nourse that if you are troubled about the Subject of it again by Capitaine you may see I have not neglected it. MS not found. Text printed from Jefferson Correspondence, Bixby, p. 40-2, where it is indicated that the letter was received 23 June 1790; so recorded in SJL. THE BIG KNIFE: Virginia.

To Thomas Mann Randolph,

Jr.

DEAR SIR New York June 20. 1790. Your favor of May 25. came to hand on the 5th. inst. I am infinitely pleased at your predilection for settling in Albemarle. Certainly no circumstance in life is so near my heart as to have you near me. This will fix beyond a doubt my intended visit to Virginia, in the fall, in order to see what arrangements may be taken for settling you in Albemarle. In the mean while perhaps it might be as well for you to defer purchasing the 100 acres of land you mention, unless indeed Colo. Randolph were disposed to let you have a part of Edgehill. I cannot but hope that he, you, and myself, contributing what we can, may be able to accomodate you with as much at least of Edgehill as Colo. Randolph seemed willing to sell to Mr. Harvie. On this subject I must propose a negociation with him.-On enquiry I find that New England is not the place to look out for skilful farmers. That is scarcely a country where wheat is cultivated at all. The best farmers in America I am told are those on the Delaware. I shall take measures for knowing whether one can be got for you and at what price. Congress are much embarrassed by the two questions of assumption, and residence. All proceedings seem to be arrested till these can be got over. And for the peace and continuance of the union, a mutual sacrifice of opinion and interest is become the duty of every one: for it is evident that if everyone retains inflexibly his present opinion, there will be no bill passed at all for funding the public debts, and if they separate without funding there is an end of the government. In this situation of things, the only choice is among disagreeable things. The assumption must be admitted, but in so qualified a form as to divest it of it's injustice. This may be done by assuming to the creditors of every state a sum exactly proportioned to the contributions of the state: so that the state will on the whole neither gain nor lose. There will remain against the [540 }

20 JUNE 1790

measure only the objection that Congress must lay taxes for these debts which might be better laid and collected by the states. On the question of residence, the compromise proposed is to give it to Philadelphia for 15. years, and then permanently to George town by the same act. This is the best arrangement we have now any prospect of, and therefore the one to which all our wishes are at present pointed. If this does not take place, something much worse will; to wit an unqualified assumption and the permanent seat on the Delaware. The delegations of this state and Pennsylvania have conducted themselves with great honor and wisdom on these questions. They have by a steady (yet not a stipulated) concurrence avoided insidious baits which have been held out to divide them and defeat their object. The revolution in France is still going on slowly and surely. There is a league of Prussia, Poland, Sweden and Turkey formed under the auspices of England and Holland against the two empires, who are scarcely in a condition to oppose such a combination. There is also a possibility of immediate war between England and Spain. The day before the mail of the last packet came away, that is, on the 6th. of May, the king by a message to both houses, informed them of the capture of two British vessels by the Spaniards at Nootka sound, under a claim of exclusive right to those coasts, that he had demanded satisfaction, and was arming to obtain it. There was a very hot press of seamen, and several ships of war had already put to sea. Both houses unanimously promised support: and it seems as if they would insist on an unequivocal renunciation of her vague claims on the part of Spain. Perhaps they are determined to be satisfied with nothing less than war, dismemberment of the Spanish empire, and annihilation of their fleet. I enclose for Patsy a letter which came by the packet, and with sincere love to her am Dear Sir Yours affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON HC (DLC). PrC (DLC). A LEAGUE ••• FORMED: John Brown Cutting wrote Washington on 1 May 1790 enclosing a newspaper containing the text of the treaty between Prussia and Turkey and added: "The terms of it are such that a war .•• it is believed here must immediately and inevitably ensue" (DNA; RG 59, MLR; the letter

was conveyed by James Morris, whom Cutting directed to deliver it "or cause it to be delivered as soon as he arrives"). This news, arriving about the time of the above letter, prompted TJ's urging neutrality in his private letters at home and abroad (see TJ to Howell, Walker, 23 June 1790; and to Gilmer, Vaughan, 27 June 1790).

[ 541 ]

To David Rittenhouse DEAR SIR New York June 20. 1790. I inclosed you on the 17th. the alterations I had made in my report in consequence of the Bp. of Autun's proposition which had come to my hands two days before. On the 18th. I received from Mr. Cutting in London a packet of newspapers, among which were the two inclosed, containing the speech in parliament of Sr. John Riggs Miller on the subject of weights and measures. I observe he states the estimate of 39.2 I. for the length of the pendulum as confessedly erroneous. I had adopted it from memory only and before I had been able to get a single book of any kind in the 1st. part of the report, wherein I endeavor to ascertain and fix invariably the system of measures and weights now in use with us. But before I proceeded to the 2d. part proposing a thorough reform and the reducing the whole to the decimal ratio, I had been able to procure here a cop.y of the Principia, and so to recur to the fountain head for Sr. I. Newton's calculation: and then added the note, which you will find page 3. of the report, doubting what could have been the foundation of the common imputation of the estimate of 39.2 to Sr. I. Newton, and stating the grounds of that of 39.1682 for the Lat. of 51 0 -31 of 39.1285 for 38. 0 which I had at first adopted, and 39.14912 for 45. 0 which I took on receiving the Bp. of Autun's proposition. I have now thought I might venture to take for granted that the estimate of 39.2 is as erroneous as I had supposed it, and therefore to expunge it from the 1st. branch of the report and substitute in it's stead 39.1682 and to change a passage, under the head of 'Measures of length' into the following form. 'They furnish no means to persons at a distance, of knowing what this standard is. This however is supplied by the evidence of the Second pendulum, which, according to the authority before quoted, being 39.1682 I. for the latitude of London, and consequently the Second rod for the same latitude being 58.752 S- we are first to find by actual trial the rod for 45. 0 and to add to that 28YtooOO of an inch, or %0 of a line (which in practice will endanger less error than an attempt at so minute a fraction as 10000th parts of an inch). This will give us the true measure of 58% English inches. Or, to shorten the operation, and yet obtain the result we seek, let the standard rod of 45. 0 be divided into 587Ys equal parts, and let each of these parts be declared a line, 10 lines an inch.' &c. I propose also to strike out the note page 3. before mentioned, and to substitute the following in it's place. 'The length of the pendulum [542 ]

20 JUNE 1790

has been differently estimated by different persons. Knowing no reason to respect any of them more than Sr. Isaac Newton for skill, care, or candour I had adopted his estimate of 39.149 I. for our Northern limit of 45. 0 before I saw the different propositions of the Bp. of Autun, and of Sr. John Riggs Miller. The first of these gentlemen quotes Mairan's calculation for 48°-50' the latitude of Paris towit 504:257::72 pouces: a 4th. proportional which will be 36.71428 pouces = 39.1923 inches. The difference between the pendulum for 48°-50' and 45. ° as calculated by Sr. I. Newton is .0112 I. so that the pendulum for 45. 0 would be estimated according to the Bishop of Autun at 39.1923 - .0112 = 39.1811. Sr. John Riggs Miller proposes 39.126 being Graham's determination for 51 °-31', the latitude of London. The difference between the pendulum for 51 0 -31' and 45. 0 by Sr. I. Newton is .019 I. so that the pendulum for 45. 0 should be estimated accord39.107 I. Now dividing ing to Sr. J. R. Miller at 39.126-.019 our respect equally between these two results by taking their mean, . 39.181+39.107 to WIt 2 = 39.144 we find ourselves almost exactly

=

with Sr. I. Newton whose estimate of 39.149 we had already adopted.' I propose also to reform a passage under the head of weights in the 1st. branch of the report, to stand thus. 'Let it then be established that an ounce is of the weight of a cube of rain water of one tenth of a foot, or rather that it is the thousandth part of the weight of a cubic foot of rain water weighed in the standard temperature' &c.-all which I submit to your judgment, and I will ask you particularly to examine the numbers .0112 and .019 as I have no help here to find them otherwise than by approximation. I have wished much, but in vain, to find Emerson's and Ferguson's books here. In short I never was cut off from the resources of my own books and papers at so unlucky a moment. There is a Count Andriani of Milan here who sais there is a work on the subject of weights and measures published by Frisi of Milan. Perhaps you may have it at Philadelphia, and be able to send it to me. Were it not for my confidence in your assistance I should not have ventured to take up this business till I receive my books. I am, my dear Sir with great & sincere esteem Your friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

[543 J

From Edward Rutledge My DEAR SIR June 20. 1790 The Son of my deceased Friend, Mr. Arthur Middleton, whom you once well knew, is on the Eve of making the Tour of the States. He is a Young Gentleman of good Understanding, and honourable affections. To unite Knowledge, with Understanding, we have agreed to his becoming acquainted with his own Country, and his own Countrymen, considering as such, the Friends of America, in all the United States.-Connected as I was with his Father, by Marriage, by the same political Sentiments, and by a similarity of Sufferings, I have felt the Obligation of attending to the Son, and of advising his Mother with Respect to his Plans of Life. After observing, and reflecting, we think he may be very safely trusted abroad, and he leaves Us with an ardent Desire of obtaining a thorough Knowledge of Men and Things in his own Country, preparatory to his going beyond the Atlantic. He is well acquainted with the Characters of those to whom America will ever consider herself obliged; but he wishes, to be also acquainted with the Persons; I therefore have taken the Liberty of giving him Letters to several of my particular Friends-as such I Introduce him to your kindness, and Civilities. I think I may assure you, your good offices will be well received, and well remembered. I wrote you by Mrs. Eveleigh, and I have not heard from you since. I do not mean by this observation to break in upon your more important Hours. But, as Snell had sailed from N: Y: after the receipt of my Letter, and has never been heard of, and as my Letter respected the Trade of this Country particularly, I thought it very probable you might have made some enquiry, by him, respecting the real State of things here. The rather, as the British Minister has written into this Country for information on several Points, which look towards a Treaty. This I have from very satisfactory Authority. I have made a good deal of Enquiry, of our Commercial People, on the Subject of the Tonnage Act of last year. It has produced very beneficial Effects. I think the discrimination may be carried a great way; and were I on the Floor of Congress, I would vote for it Tomorrow. The West Indies are so naturally connected with this Country, that they must for ever depend upon Us; Her Separation appears to have been effected by a Convulsion of Nature. We can neither defend, or would, unless we have the materials for a Navy; the principal part of these Materials are Seamen. Every thing which tends to their encouragement should be promoted, and (544 ]

21 JUNE 1790

cherished. With the Means of a Navy in our own Hands, and with a Prospect of a Navy in the Eye of Europe, we may dictate a Treaty. If not at present, yet at a period not far distant, provided we take care not to make the first Treaty which we form (I speak of a Commercial one) a perpetual Treaty. We can loose nothing by making our Treaty but for a certain number of years. America is at present but in the Gristle. G: Britain has past the Meridian of her Day. She is matured in Politics. We are young. Toryism has thrown into her Kingdom, Men of Information from all the States of the Union. And she has sought Information from her Friends within these States. She is therefore prepared on all Points, and may safely enter into a Compact, to last for a great length of Time. The Southern States want Commercial Men with you; and I doubt very much, whether any of our Merchants can look deep enough into a Treaty to see its effects for the course of many Years. - We have all been greatly alarmed of late at the Account of the President's ill-health. God preserve him long among Us. The World has this year been deprived of several great Men. Heaven forbid that he should be added to the Catalogue. If your Health is as good as your Heart and your Head, you will live a long whilewhich is the sincere wish of my dear Sir Your very affectionate Friend & obedient Servt., ED: RUTLEDGE RC (DLC); endorsed as received 2 July 1790 and so recorded in

SJ"L.

From David Rittenhouse DEAR SIR

Philadelphia June 21st. 1790.

I received yours of the 12th. 14th. and 17th. together with the several papers mentioned, to which I shall give as much attention, and as soon as my health will permit. In the mean time I thought it not amiss to transmit to you such observations as occurred to me on first reading them. I am not quite satisfied with the reasons given (page 1.) for having recourse to motion for a Standard of Measure. The true reason seems to be, not because all matter is variable in its dimensions, for that is a difficulty we have to contend with after recourse is had to the motion of Pendulums, but because a Standard rod of any given lenghth may be irrecoverably lost, and because no such rod has been preserved for us from ancient times, nor can we undertake to transmit them to posterity with sufficient authenticity, or to different Countries for general use. [545 ]

21 JUNE 1790

That the motion of the Earth, about its Axis, is Sufficiently uniform for every human purpose I have very little doubt. But there are good reasons for supposing that it is not perfectly Equable. The Unequal attractions of the Sun and Moon are sufficient to produce a sort of libratory motion in the Earth's Axis, and when this motion is encreasing, the rotatory motion is probably decreasing, and the Contrary. There are other causes which may perhaps sensibly diminish the Earths motion on its Axis in a long course of time. Would it not therefore be best to avoid asserting that it is uniform and invariable, without any restriction? Perhaps so great a preference is not due to the vibrating rod of an uniform Diameter. That preference seems to be founded on an Opinion that the radius of Oscillation is precisely i of the lenghth of the rod. But this is not true unless the thickness of the rod be infinitely little with respect to its lenghth. In all other cases a correction is necessary. A cube is but a short thick rod, and its radius of Oscillation is i of its lenghth. It is true that the Center of Oscillation of any uniform rod is easily found by Calculation. And so it is likewise when the pendulum has any given regular figure. Perhaps no other part of Mathematick affords so many theorems, beautiful for their simplicity, as the doctrine of Oscillations. The Globe, Cylinder, Cube, Pyramid &cc. are figures which may all be executed with great Accuracy, and when used as pendulums their centers of Oscillation are easily found, nor does the weight of the rod by which they are suspended add much to the difficulty if its substance be uniform. Let the radius of a Globe be made = 1. and let the distance of its Center from the Center of Vibration in such measures be = a. Then a _4_ = radius of Oscillation. lOa If a rod, uniform in its thickness, be used, a Cylindrical rod will be preferable to a square one. I mean its Center of Oscillation will be nearer to the points of i. Let the lenghth of the rod be made = a, and half its diameter = x. Then in the Square rod, whether it vibrate parallel to one of its sides, or to its diagonal, the radius of Oscillation will be = fa 2;:. But in the ~ylindrical rod it will be = fa ~. And tho' x must be greater m the round rod, that the weights may be equal, still its correction will be to that of the square rod as 5000. to 5236. The Latitude of 45. 0 appears to me very proper for determining the Standard Measure, but I fear it will be difficult for us to make experiments in that Latitude. Wherever it is done, some little inaccuracies will no doubt arise in adapting the result to other Latitudes, as likewise from different elevations, which in some cases

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may lenghthen the pendulum and in others Shorten it. These errors will however, I think, be very inconsiderable. Of the different relations between weights and measures, noticed by you, there is one which I wish may be preserved. I mean that a Cubic foot of Water be made 1000. ounces. So that if the foot be decimally divided a Cubic inch will be one ounce. I much approve of your proposal of making the Bushell of Gallons equal to one cubic foot and a quarter. Then if the foot be divided into 10 Inches The Pint will be 2t I. Square and 3i deep Quart 2! I. Square and 61 deep Gallon 5. I. Square and 61 deep Peck. 5. I. Square and 12! deep Bushelll. foot square and 12! deep Or if a Cylindrical Vessel should be prefered for common use let it [be] 12.4 in diameter and 10.3! deep and it will contain but -to of a cubic inch less than a Bushell of 1250 Inches. It will be very convenient to connect the pound and Ounce Avoirdupois with the penny weights and grains of Troy weight as you propose. I am, Dear Sir, with great respect Your sincere friend &: servant, DAvD. RITTENHOUSE

P. S. If a pendulum be of a lenticular form, as they are generally made then lett the two sides be equal portions of the same Sphere, whose radius make = 1. Let half the thickness of the pendulum, in such measure, be = x and the distance from the center of suspension to the Center of the pendulum = a. Then the radius of aa i aax i x - ! xx loxs Oscillation will be = . There seems a -} ax. to be a mistake page 4. in the 2d. paragraph. Newton says ''I take an Iron Rod of 3 feet long to be shorter by 1 of a line in winter than in Summer." That is 25;2 part of its whole lenghth. I have

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this instant received yours of the 20th. and shall write again soon. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 24 June 1790 and so recorded in S:rL.

From William Smith New York June 22d. 1790 I take the liberty to submit to your perusal the inclosed letter, which was transmitted to me, a few days past, from a merchant in Baltimore. SIR

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The prohibition therein complained of, Strikes deep, at our East India trade. The article of cotton, from that country, is become a very considerable import, and together, with sundry other East India commodities, serve as good remittances to Europe. If any steps can be devised to afford relief, it will render essential service to this country. I am Respectfully Sir Yr. Mo. Obt. Servt.

W: RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); endorsed by TJ as received 22 June 1790 and recorded in SJL under that date as from "Smith Wm. (of Maryld.) N.Y." Enclosure: A letter from Stephen Wilson, Baltimore, to William Smith, 10 June 1790, reading: "As I am proprie· tor of the first parcel of Goods siezed in England under the Construction of the Officers of the Revenue in that Country put upon the Laws restricting the Intercourse between our States and them, the Members of our Insurance Office have requested me to send you the following extract of a letter I have received from my friends Messrs. C. Kensington & W. Coningham of London to whom the article was consigned: it was 42 Bales of Cotton Wool I shipped on the British ship Virtuous Grace from James River.-'We cannot concieve why this Country should be inclined to admit Cotton Wool &c. from all other places and refuse it from America. It is said our Government have an Idea that it would encourage America in her Trade with India and assist her in being a carrier for this country. We have done

SMITH

every thing in our power to explain this matter which we stated very fully in a letter to Mr. Pitt. We added that it must irritate the people of your Continent very much to find themselves excluded from vending Cotton &ca. here, and yet every other country in the World permitted to do it, brut] that it was not improbable your Government would retaliate by laying heavy imposts on British Ships enter[ing] your Ports. We fear no remonstrance will avail, and that the Law will remain as it now is.'-It is unnecessary to make any Comment upon it as you will see the matter in a fuller view than I can take of the subject" (RC in DLC). In DLC: TJ Papers, 55:9363 there is an undated MS in T J's hand reading as follows: "Wilson's letter of June 10. 1790. complaining of 42 bales of cotton (it was W. India) seised in England.Mr. Morris tells me the English confine this rigor to us alone: that they receive the same commodities from Ostend and elsewhere, that their merchants go there to buy them up."

To Wilson Miles Cary SIR New York June 23. 1790. I duly received your favor of Apr. 23. and should have been very happy to have served you by an appointment to a clerkship as you desired; but that I found the offices full, and made it a point not to remove those who were in possession. So that I have not had one single appointment to make. Indeed these posts are so little lucrative that they are hardly worth a gentleman's coming for from any distance. 500. dollars a year to a person who is to board and lodge himself and to do much drudgery in writing is very scanty in a city. I am with great esteem Sir Your most humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON

[548 }

23 JUNE 1790 PrC (DLC). examined and regularly licensed to pracCary, who described himself as per- tice as an attorney. The hope of confectly unknown but as one ready to siderable wages is not my inducement to produce "Letters introductory and rec- offer my services as I am in some measommendatory from gentlemen the most ure independent, therefore whatever eminent for their ranks and abilities in terms may be offered by you I have this State," applied for a clerkship in a no doubt I shall accede to; but as I am letter to TJ of 27 (not 23) Apr. 1790. induced to believe the duties of your He wrote in part: "As I am satisfied office will be such as are the most conthat you would wish to be made ac- sistant with my own wishes, and such quainted with the education and manner as I hope I may be able to give satisof bringing up of such persons as you faction in, permit me to hope if the may wish to employ, permit me to in- offices are not preoccupied, that I may form you, that my education hath been be engaged, if not permanently, during Classical, and that I am tolerably con- your own pleasure" (RC in DLC: Apversant in the French Language. I have plications for Office Under Washington; been bred to the Law under the Honble. endorsed by TJ as received 6 May 1790 Mr. Wythe of this State and have been and so recorded in SJ"L).

To Angelica Schuyler Church DEAR MADAM

New York June 23.1790.

I had understood, before I set out from Monticello for New York in March, that you had remained here the winter, and among the most pleasing circumstances of my journey to this place was the happiness I expected of meeting you here. At Philadelphia I was first informed of your departure. Here again they flatter us with another visit from you. I wish Mr. Church could think our Congress as agreeable a field of service as that he has chosen where no efforts can prevail against the money of the government. From the estimate I am able to make of the sum of happiness enjoyed in this country and in anyone of Europe, I think it preponderates here greatly. His habits of friendship indeed have been fonned there; but he is not without them here: yours, of the most tender kind, are all here, and that this is a better country for one's children to be fixed in, I have sealed with my opinion in the instance of my own, whom no consideration would have induced me to transplant into Europe. I inclose for Kitty a letter from her friend. It is my fault that it has been so long detained. I always meant to put it under cover to you, and an illness which has filled the whole time from my arrival almost to the present date, has prevented my writing to my friends. Polly is living at present with an aunt; and consequently separated from me, and also from her sister, who, I am in hopes, will be settled in my neighborhood in Virginia, whither we shall all collect again some day. In the mean time if I can find a good situation, I shall remove Polly hither, or to Philadelphia should Congress go there as seems most likely.-Mr. Trumbul is

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there at present going on with his paintings. I hope he will obtain subscriptions enough to effect his plan of engraving them.-My last letter from Mde. de Corny is of antient date. She always told me you were tres paresseuse, therefore I can count only on hearing from you thro' Mrs. Hamilton. Even this will always be a great pleasure to me. Be so good as to present my respects to Mr. Church, and my love to Kitty. I do not know the others but I love them too because they are yours. Accept, my dear Madam, assurances of the sincere & affectionate esteem & respect of Your most obedt. & most humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON RC (Peter B. Olney, Old Saybrook, Conn., 1950); addressed: "Mrs. Church Sackville street London"; postmarked: "NEW-YORK .. july 8" and, within circle, "AU 25." PrC (DLC); first page only, second page in ViU. TJ had done what he could to promote Trumbull's SUBSCRIPTIONS: on 17 Apr. 1790 in New York he paid Trumbull six guineas for two sets of prints "representing the Battle of Bunker's-

Hill, and . . • the Death of General Montgomery," this amount being half the subscription price (receipt signed by Anthony C. Poggi and John Trumbull, 15 Apr. 1790, for three guineas, printed form in MWA; order for six guineas on Leroy & Bayard, 17 Apr. 1790, in TJ's hand, signature cancelled, in MoSHi; Account Book, 17 Apr. 1790).

To Maria Cosway New York June 23. 1790.

I received, my dear friend, your favor of Apr. 6. It gives me a foretaste of the sensations we are to feel in the next world, on the arrival of any new-comer from the circle of friends we have left behind. I am now fixed here, and look back to Europe only on account of that circle. Could it be transferred here, the measure of all I could desire in this world would be filled up, for I have no desire but to enjoy the affections of my heart, which are divided now by a wide sea. You know I always ranted about your bringing your pencil and harp here. They would go well with our groves, our birds, and our sun. Trumbull is painting away but being at Philadelphia I cannot have the solace of talking with him about you. They tell me que vous allez faire un enfant. Je vous en felicite de tout mon coeur. This will wean you from your harp and your pencil, by filling your heart with joys still more bewitching. You may make children there, but this is the country to transplant them to. There is no comparison between the sum of happiness enjoyed here and there. All the distractions of your great Cities are but feathers in the scale against the domestic enjoiments and rural occupations, and neighborly societies we live amidst here. I [550 J

23 JUNE 1790 summon you then as a mothet to come and join us. You must tell me you will, whether you mean it, or no. En attendant je vous aimerai toujours. Adieu, my Dear Maria, Yours affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON Tr (DLC); in a 19th century hand. TJ learned from Mrs. Paradise of the approaching birth of Mrs. Cosway's only child, Louisa Paolina Angelica Cosway, named for her godmother the Countess of Albany, her godfather, General Paoli, and her mother's friend and her own patron, Angelica Kauffmann. The child is generally assumed to have been born in 1789 but was actually born about the time the above letter was written (Horace Walpole's Correspondence with Mary and Agnes

Berry, ed. W. S. Lewis, I, 285, n.; Helen Duprey Bullock, My head and my heart, p. 135-6; Mrs. Paradise to TJ, 2 Mch. 1790; Gouverneur Morris, Diary, ed. Davenport, I, 541). Mrs. Cosway went to Italy in Sep. 1790 accompanied by the Italian singer, Luigi Marchesi; Walpole thought it odd "to drop a child and her husband and country all in a breath," but she returned in 1794 and both she and her husband did portraits of the child before it died in 1796.

To C. W. F. Dumas New York June 23d. 1790. DR. SIR I arrived at this Place the latter end of March, and undertook the Office, to which the President had been pleased to appoint me, of Secretary of State, which comprehends that of the foreign Affairs. Before I had got through the most pressing Matters which had been accumulating, a long Illness came upon me, and put it out of my Power for many Weeks to acknowledge the Receipt of your Letters. I will state to you first the whole of those of the Years 1788 and 1789 which had come to Hand before my Arrival, to wit, 1788. January 22d. February 2. March 15. 23. May 10. 28. June 10. 20. July 18. 26. August 1. 9. 12. 13.27. Septr. 4. 16.20.26. October 6. 9. 12. 21. 30. December 11th. 1789. January 20th. March 1. 21. April 1. 27. June 15. 19. July 20. August 14. September 17. 22d. Since my Arrival here I have received those of October 13th. November 8. 15. December 2. and February 28th. It will doubtless be satisfactory to you also to know what was done with the Papers you have from Time to Time sent. The Memorial from the Baron de Helldorf to Congress, enclosed in your Letter of August 1st. 1788 respecting an Improvement in fire Arms, was laid before them, but nothing is decided on it. The Memorial of 8th. June 1788 and Papers concerning a Mr. Fuhrer, Gunsmith, who died in Philadelphia intestate, were transmitted to the President of Pensylvania. The Memorial from the Charge des Affaires of Bavaria and the Contract between Lewis Conrad Kuhn of Manheim and the Widow [551 ]

23 JUNE 1790

Marie Zeller a Resident of Philadelphia, enclosed in your Letter of August 27th. 1788, were transmitted to the President of Pennsylvania. The Letter and Memoire from the Officers of the Prince of Nassau Saarbruck, respecting Property left to the Heirs of a certain Johann Ludwig Schumann of Pensylvania, were transmitted to the President of that State. A Letter for the Government of Pensylvania which was enclosed in yours of October 13th. 1789, was transmitted to the President of that State; and the Citation to Charles Brant contained in a German Gazette enclosed in your Letter, has been published in our Newspapers. An Extract of your Letter of December 2d. 1789 on the Subject of your Disbursements for Gazettes, Postage of Letters and Repairs to the Hotel of the United States, has been given to the Secretary of the Treasury. On the Subject of Gazettes I must beg the Favor of you to desire that of Leyden to be sent by every Post, as it comes out, to London; by which means I shall receive it by every English Packet. These Vessels come fraught with Lies regularly once a Month, which throw us into a very disagreeable Suspence. I am anxious therefore to receive at the same Time, a Paper which will in a good Measure serve as an Antidote to their Effect. If Mr. Luzac's Correspondent or Agent in London can at once put my Paper into the Post Office, ~~h~~~~~~an~hwill~~If~

must be a Person there to receive them for me, I must get the Favor of you to find one till we can have a Consul, Agent or Correspondent there which will be soon. In the mean Time I must get you also to have the Postage paid as far as London, that the Papers may not be stopped there for the Want of Postage. As I have very much at Heart to receive these Papers regularly and as early as possible, I must beg the Favor of you to put them into the surest Train possible. They will be less liable to be opened if directed to me by name simply, and without Addition of any Title. We are much pleased to learn the Credit of our Paper at Amsterdam. We consider it as of the first Importance to possess the first Credit there, and to use it little. Our Distance from the Wars of Europe, and our Disposition to take no part in them, will we hope enable us to keep clear of the Debts which they occasion to other Powers. It will be well for yourself and our Bankers to keep in Mind always, that a great Distinction is made here between our foreign and domestic Paper. As to the foreign, Congress is con[552 ]

23 JUNE 1790

sidered as the Representative of one Party only, and I think I can say with Truth that there is not one single Individual in the United States, either in or out of Office, who supposes they can ever do any Thing which might impair their foreign Contracts; but with respect to domestic Paper, it is thought that Congress being the Representative of both Parties, may shape their Contracts so as to render them practicable, only seeing that substantial Justice be done. This Distinction will explain to you their Proceedings on the Subject of their Debts. The funding their foreign Debts, according to express Contract, passed without a Debate and without a dissenting Voice. The modelling and funding the domestic Debt occasions great Debates and great Difficulty. The Bill of Ways and Means was lately thrown out because an Excise was interwoven into it's Texture; and another ordered to be brought in which will be clear of that. The Assumption of the Debts contracted by the States to Individuals for Services rendered the Union, is a Measure which divides Congress greatly. Some think that the States could much more conveniently levy Taxes themselves to payoff these, and thus save Congress from the Odium of imposing too heavy Burthens in their Name. This appears to have been the Sentiment of the Majority hitherto; but it is possible that Modifications may be proposed which may bring the Measure yet into an acceptable Form. We shall receive with Gratitude the Copy of Rymer's federa which you are so good as to propose for the Use of our Offices here. I have the Honor to be with great Esteem, Dr. Sir &c. FC (DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 121).

To David Howell New York June 23. 1790.

SIR

I have been much gratified by the receipt of your favors of the 3d. and 12th. inst. The former, with the papers inclosed in it, was communicated to the president. I feel a sincere sympathy in the pleasure you must have in contemplating the promising genius of your son. His oration contains reflections and views far beyond the ordinary ones of his age. Congress have been much divided on the question of assuming the state debts. Without pretending to a thorough understanding of the subject, I am apt to suppose difficulties pretty nearly balan[ced on] both sides, when I see honest and able men so equally di[vided] in sentiment on a question: consequently that the decision either way

[ 553 J

23 JUNE 1790 in preference to the other, will not be attended with either signal advantage or disadvantage. A general war in the North of Europe is certain. Late advices excite a suspicion that England means to take advantage of circumstances to single out Spain for her own drubbing. If she forces the latter on a war, it is possible that France may rise like a giant from his slumbers, and refreshed by them. I hope peace and profit will be our lot. I am with great esteem Dear Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON P.S. I return you the oration. RC (Benjamin Cowell, Wrentham, Mass., 1944); MS torn when seal was broken; missing text supplied from PrC (DLC).

To John Coffin Jones New York June 23.1790. I duly received your favor of May 1. and communicated to the President the part relative to Mr. Larreguy who would have been disposed to pay all possible respect to your recommendation. The first rule on that subject was to appoint a native consul wherever a good one would accept of it: but where no native could be found, the person in possession was confirmed. Dr. Franklin had appointed a Mr. Cathalan as agent, early in the war, a very substantial merchant of Marseilles. He and his son have paid great attention to our concerns there, had much trouble, and no emolument from it. It was thought unjust to remove him without cause. The commission is given to the son, as being otherwise well qualified, and particularly as understanding well our language and usages acquired by a residence in England. A bill which may be called the true navigation act for the U.S. is before Congress, and will probably pass. I hope it will lay the foundation of a due share of navigation for us. I am with great esteem Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH : JEFFERSON SIR

PrC (DLC).

From Tobias Lear Wednesday 23 June 1790 By the command of the President of the United States T. Lear has the honor to enclose for Mr. Jefferson's perusal a letter from the

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Count d'Estaing to the President, which was alluded to by Mr. Short in the letter which Mr. Jefferson laid before the President at the time when he delivered the above letter from the Count d'Estaing, likewise two letters, a memorial, and a treatise upon establishing a uniformity of weights and measures throughout the United States, which were written and transmitted to the President by Mr. Collignon. Dft (DNA: RG 59, MLR). FC (DNA: RG 59, SDC). Not recorded in

SJL.

ENe LOS U R E

D'Estaing to George Washington a paris ce 20 mars 1790 Permettes a un des moindres mais a un des plus zeles maneuvres du grand ouvrage que vous aves commence, conduit, et acheve, de joindre une lettre particuliere a rna reponce officiele, et de m'entretenir librement avec vous. Le petit homage que je prens la liberte de vous envoyer en vous suplian d'accepter Ie Bustte ressemblant de Mr. Necker, et les gravures qui l'acompagnent vous exprimera mieux que des discours l'opinion publique et la mienne. Lorsqu'un Arc a ete trop tendu les vibrations de la Corde en sont d'autant plus durables, et d'autant plus forttes; lorsque la vacillation des idees, et de ces fausses demarches qui inspirent, qui reproduisent Ia defiance, et qui lui servent de pretextes, ont occasionees des sacades imprevues et que la corde qui devoit etre lachee lentement, et par la meme main est partie a coup; trop sou vent a contre temps; et qu'elle a rencontre dans sa marche la maladroite oposition de quellesques foibles branches, qu'elle a brise sans effort, mais dont on a pu, et peut etre du, exagerer a volonte, la resistance imaginaire; alors touttes les donnees varient, et il n'existte plus de geometrie politique; en suposant touttefois qu'un autre exemple que celui de la conduitte du General Washington ait pu faire croire a la possibilite, a la realite, d'une telle Geometrie.La duree des mouvements de la corde qui nous entraine, et la renaiscance sufisante, et legitime de la Fleche du pouvoir executif; sans lequel il n'y a point d'Arc actif, et imposant; me paroissent donc encore incalculables, mais Ie terme n'en est pas eloigne. La, ou la force manque il faut aneantissement, ou repos; Ie premier est demontre impossible ames yeux, l'esprit public qui raproche, et qui unit les forces individueles, ne produira point la dislocation des membres d'un grand tout. J'ose croire Ie repos tres prochain.-Je vais vous prouver combien j'en suis persuade en deposant entre vos mains des voeux qui paroitroient chimeriques a d'autres qu'a vous. Les plus sages les considereroient ici, et au milieu de l'etat de combustion dans lequel nous sommes encore comme etant au moins tres deplaces. On s'imagineroit que je m'occupe des siecles avenirs; je me persuade cepandant qu'il est

MONSIEUR

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23 JUNE 1790 temps de vous soumettre ce qu'il seroit possible de preparer actuelement, et ce que je presume qui pouroit s'executter dans peu de mois. La bonte de votre coeur, qui allie au plus haut degre l'indulgente simplicite de lhomme qui fait cas des vertus privees, a toutte la majeste du fondateur, du president, et du general sufiroit pour me faire pardonner l'imprudence de detourner vos yeux sur un aussi petit objet que ce qui me regarde.-J'ai trois dettes a payer. Fortement attache a rna nation j'ai fait, telle qu'elle etoit, ce que j'ai pu pour elle; je sens que je vais la cherir; rna cariere est terminee quand a l'action mais les souhaits me resttent. Mon zele seul m'a valu la grace d'Hre adopte par deux autres peuples. L'Amerique et l'Espagne m'ont honore de leurs plus beaux tittres, j'y ai les droits de Citoyen. 11 m'est penible d'imaginer qu'il pouroit existter incessament entre ceux qui ont daigne distinguer rna bonne volonte des motifs de division que la France s'eforceroit peutetre envain de calmer, et cela pour un objet qui devroit acroitre leurs forces et les unir presque a jamais.-Je ne dissimule pas que je me laisse aller plus facilement a cette inquietude parce qu'autrefois je proposai ce meme objet comme un des moyens d'accelerer la liberte Americaine.-Lorsqu'on ceda la Louisiane a l'Espagne Mr. Ie Duc de Choiseul avoit l'influence ministeriele, il me croyoit quelleque fois en fait de payis eloignes; et je lui donnai un memoire par lequel je demontrois l'honesttete, la convenance, et l'utilite, de rendre la Louisiane une Colonie libre gouvernee par elle meme par ses propres loix, et sous la protection imediatte, et active de la france, et de l'espagne. L'acte du Timbre, et ce que j'avois apris etant gouverneur de st Domingue des dispositions du Continent me fesoit dire dans ce memoire, qu'un exemple aussi raproche etabliroit la confiance, augmenteroit Ie desir, et que ce seroit mettre sous les chassis d'une serre chaude Ie germe prest a eclore de la revolution de l'Amerique septentrionale. Cette Amerique, Monsieur, vous avoit; elle s'est suffi a elle meme. L'injustice Anglaise a plus fait que je n'avois ose prevoir; des evenements que je voullois hatter en ont ete la suitte; et bientost vos vertus et vos talents les ont rendus possibles. La circonstance de l'isle de Corse qu'on venoit de trafiquer avec Genes et qu'on travailloit alors a soumettre arestta Mr. de Choiseul. 11 me paru principalement retenu par l'inconsequence dont on l'auroit acuse s'il s'etoit ocupe tout a la fois de deux objets dont les principes etoient si directement oposes. La tragique mission qui a portte malheur aux talents de Mr. O-reilly s'effectua a la Nouvelle Orleans, et L'unique fruit de mes raisonements, et de mes sollicitations a ete de laisser dans notre gouvernement des traces d'une opinion qui m'a tenu lieu de talens et qui m'a probablement fait croire Ie plus propre au comandement des premieres forces qui ont He s'unir a vous. Cette trop longue naration m'a semble une preface convenable aux idees qu'un sentiment iresistible pour tout ce qui peut contribuer a la paix m'engage a mettre sous vos yeux; j'ai tachepar la de legitimer la succinte exposition qui va suivre. J e souhaitte Monsieur ce que je proposai autrefois. J e Ie crois possible. La liberte de la Louisiane Hablie sur les memes bases de protection, et ayant des raports a peu pres egaux avec les trois nations me paroit

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23 JUNE 1790 necessaire pour leur tranquilite, et pour leur utilite. La manie territoriale, et les principes exclusifs de l'Espagne influront moins sur Mr. Ie Comte de Florida-Blanca que sur tout autre ministre. J'ai ete Ie temoin de la confiance si productive que Mr. Ie Comte de Montmorin lui inspiroit lorsque Mr. l'ambassadeur de france avoit a repousser les predictions des autres ministres espagnols qui anticipants sur la nuit des temps voyoient non seulement les piastres mais la souvrainete du Mexique au rang de vos conquesttes prochaines. Les pouvoirs de l'Espagne que je vous atteste que j'ai encore entre mes mains demontrent invinciblement a quel point Mr. de Montmorin en etoit cru, et combien Mr. de Florida-Blanca est suceptible des idees justtes, et grandes. Troupes, vaisseaux et argent, espagnols, j'avois Ie droit de tout employer d'apres vos lumieres sur Ie continent de l'Amerique septentrional; et vous aves scu qu'elles etoient les forces qui partoient de Cadis et qui alloient se joindre a ce qui etoit a st. Domingue et a Porto-Cavello. Le credit de Mr. de Florida-Blanca a survecu au changement de regne. Le roy d'aujourdui sera moins attache a la Louisiane que son predecesseur; il ne l'a pas lui meme aquise; il en restteroit d'ailleurs Ie Protecteur; la pompe de ses tittres et la cartte de son territoire pouroient par la n'en point diminuer; il assureroit l'immencite de ses autres possesions. Je voudrais qu'en echange elles fussent encore augmentees du part age de la souvrainete des isles de france et de Bourbon, et de la Cosouvrainete de nos comptoL s des indes orientales. Cet equivalent seroit satisfaisant pour Ie Peuple Espagnol dont il m'a paru que Ie gouvernement ecoutte et consulte l'amour propre plus qu'on ne Ie croit. II resulteroit de cet arangement des avantages mutuels pour les trois nations. La solidite de l'existance, et des succes de la compagnie des Phillipines ou du commerce libre de l'Espagne dans cette partie du monde en depend. L'espace de Manille en Europe est trop grand a parcourir sans relache comme sans point d'apui; et tant que Manille n'aura pas des moyens pour achetter directement du continent indien les marchandises dont les Anglais ont fait connaitre la necessite ou Ie luxe au Perou, ces derniers auront toujours Ie projet de l'en fournir, par la proximite, ou par la force de leurs nouvelles colonies, ou par l'adresse de leur contrebande; et ils donneroient aussi a l'Espagne d'Europe les marchandises indiennes a un pris asses bas pour que cette contrebande soit tres avantageuse et par consequent pour qu'elle existte. L'afaiblissement de Pondicheri et des autres etablissements francais annonce celui de l'isle de France; Colonie, qui proportion element est la plus dispendieuse que nous ayons jamais fondee et alimentee. Les choses des son origine ont ete arang6ts de maniere que tout y pCse sur les finances de la· Metropole. Existance, culture, speculation de comerce soit en profit, soit en pertte, fautte meme, ou friponerie des plus simples particuliers, Ie Thresor de notre marine paye tout. Cela vous paroitra inconcevable mais une reforme dans cette isle ne peut etre que lente, et difficile. II est a craindre, j'ose dire pour tout l'univers, fortement menace de n'avoir plus qu'une seulle boutique, celle des Anglais; il est a redoutter pour tout Ie monde que notre Assemblee nationale distraitte par la foule des grands objets n'apercoive que les abuts et la depence

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23 JUNE 1790 sans considerer l'importance politique de cette isle, et ne decrette un delaissement qui deviendroit bientost un abandon. Le partage de la souvrainete avec l'espagne amesneroit un nouvel ordre de choses. Les depences ne tomberoient plus sur un seui. De grandes vues de commerce detourneroient les colons du cercle etroit, mais si onereux pour nos finances des profits qu'ils font sur elles. Votre bled, vos aparaux maritimes dans les temps de disette ou de Guerre feroient passer en de meilleures mains, que celles des hollandais du Cap de bonne esperance, les millions que nous y avons versses. Le Triumvirat de la garantie d'une triple alliance seroit la sauve garde de tous nos etablissements des indes orientales. Elle sufiroit pour les rendre respectables sans depence de plus, et sans que leur force fut augmentee. Ces comptoirs seroient utiles a tous trois. Le triple pavilIon de chacune des modesttes maisons consulaires des trois peuples allies feroient autant, et davantage que des canons mal soutenus. II faut Monsieur que l'Amerique devienne sous votre presidence tout ala fois Rome, et Cartage. La terrible amitie de l'Angleterre se prepare l'heritage du commerce de la Compagnie hollandaise; deja l'argent destine aux envoys que cette compagnie fait dans la saison actuelle a Batavia va, dit on, payer la solde des Prussiens. La fureur des sauvages de vos frontieres en sera un jour d'autant mieux soldee. Je ne vous dirai point que les francais du Canada seroient peutetre enfin tenttes de jouir du meme bonheur que ceux de la Louisiane. II est inutile de vous faire remarquer que l'arbre Anglais enfante des branches plus forttes que Ie trone, et qu'il faut que tost ou tard leur seve vigoureuse s'en separe avec Ie fruit; celui des indes orientales sera aussi dans ce cas; sa maturite doit etre attendue sans etre trop pressee. Loin de toutte asme honestte ce qui accelere la funestte revolution du Beau de la guerre, mais la clef des indes orientales est l'isle de France; quelsques faibles essays qu'autrefois je hasardai de ce lieu, l'ont demontre d'autant plus, qu'un autre aurait fait plus que moy; cette clef precieuse apartien au genre humain, soyons trois a la lui garder; et empeschons qu'elle ne soit livree a ceus qui dabord ont voulu enlever a l'Amerique Ie droit de s'imposer; qui ensuitte ne lui ont pas offert l'ombre au moins de la liberte, des represantants dans leur parlement; et qui enfin ont employe Ie fer et Ie feu pour la soumettre. J'ai trop cause a bord du Languedoc avec Mr. Alexandre Hamilton de vos grandes qualites, et de ce qu'elles effectueroient pour redoutter son opinion. II comdamnoit si sincerement les procedes Anglais en ayant la bonte de me remettre la premiere lettre que je recus de vous que j'espere qu'il ne desaprouvera point mes idees. II pensera que I'Agriculture, et que Ie Commerce doivent former Ie premier Age de la grandeur Americaine. La conquestte des piastres du Mexique, si un jour elle doit existter, deviendra pour vous l'epoque de la coruption et de la depopulation. Seres vous asses bon pour daigner remettre de rna part a Mr. Hamilton deux des petittes gravures. Nos deux hommes principaux ignorent l'homage que je leur rends. Le plus beau qu'on puisse leur souhaitter est que leurs images soyent distribuees par vous. lIs sont si necessaires a notre existance, a notre

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23 JUNE 1790 tranquilite, a notre bonheur, a notre gloire qu'ils seront vus avec plaisir dans cet univers aqui nous devons Mr. de la Fayette, et qui nous donne un double exemple. Aller sous un des raports aussi loin que l'Amerique seroit trop; lorsqu'un Roy a ouvert lui meme la cariere de la liberte, qu'il consent qu'il desire de n'etre qu'un pere, et qu'il a He Ie conservateur du sang de ses sujets, il faut se plaire a restter ses anfants, mais nous n'aurons atteints au second raport, a la perfection a laquelle vous etes parvenu, que lorsque la Heche de notre pouvoir executif aura com piette l'arc de notre gouvernement. Vous vous y intereses surement asses pour prendre part a la satisfaction que je ressens. Mr. Necker se portte beaucoup mieux nous Ie conserverons au timon des affaires. La sante de Mr. Ie Marquis de la Fayette resistte a ses fatigues, sa popularite va toujours en augmentant. Je donnerois de mon sang pour la cimenter; je servirois en y contribuant rna patrie et l'amitie. II me semble que chaque jour je l'estime encore plus, et cela me sembloit impossible a imaginer. Je suis avec respect Monsieur Votre tres humble et tres obeisESTAING sant serviteur RC (DLC: Washington Papers); endorsed. The engravings of Necker and Lafayette, two of which were destined for Hamilton, and the bust of Necker were sent separately to Washington by way of Baltimore (Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, XXXI, ISO). For the second enclosure, also transmitted in Short's letter to TJ of 4. Apr. 1790, see note on the TREATISE • • • BY MR. COLLIGNON, 4. July 1790, Editorial Note, note 8. D'Estaing's letter was received initially by TJ under cover of Short's letter of 4. Apr. 1790, which arrived on 17 June 1790. For TJ's instructions to Short on the subject, see TJ to Short, 10 Aug. 1790. On that same day Washington wrote D'Estaing: "Not knowing

how far I may have a secure conveyance for this letter, which is merely designed to announce the receipt of your highly esteemed favor of the 20th of March last, I forbear to enter into any discussions on the interesting and delicate subject you have unfolded. Let it be sufficient for the present to say, that I consider the plan a proof of your real patriotism and good understanding. Whether the Scheme will ever be feasible in its utmost extent, or what advantages may be drawn from it by some modification hereafter time alone must disclose" (Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, XXXI, 81 ). Washington's response was clearly prepared in consultation with TJ if not by him.

To Lucy Ludwell Paradise New York June 23. 1790.

DEAR MADAM

I have to acknolege from you a long list of letters, to wit, Octob. 7. Feb. 2. Mar. 2. 20. 24. and Apr. 5. My apology must be a great throng of my own business during the two months I was at Monticello, and a long illness since my arrival here as well as a great throng of public business, which bids fair indeed, in my present situation, to suppress my private correspondencies. I made it my duty however to write you very fully from Monticello the 6th. of January, with a comprehensive view of your affairs in Virginia. Yet I perceive by your letters you have not received mine of that [ 559 J

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date. It was inclosed in one to Dr. Bancroft. That was put under cover to Mr. Anderson, and the whole under cover to Mr. Wilkin[son] with a request to send it by some sure conveyance. I am mortified at it's miscarriage as it may have excited suspicions of inattention, of which, in a matter of business, I am incapable. I now send a copy of that letter, and will send a third by another conveiance. I hope it will satisfy you of my zeal to serve Mr. Paradise and yourself in any way in my power. In the way you point out in some of your late letters, it is not in my power. We shall have very few missions to Europe: and the public opinion requires that they should be filled by veterans in the public service who having long been proved on the theatre of business here, have acquired the confidence and affection of their country in general. Nobody would have merited this more than the person you point out. The opportunity alone has been wanting. My return to Europe is very unexpectedly prevented, by an appointment which has no charms for me, more than that had; but in which it said my agency may be more useful. It will close the chapter of my political history, and will not be a long one. I have no wish but for retirement to my own home and own family. Present me most affectionately to Mr. Paradise and assure him of my constant wishes to be useful to him, tho' my present occupations will hardly permit me to repeat either to him or you the assurances of it. My daughters were well when I last heard from them. The elder one married to young Mr. Randolph of Tuckahoe, perfectly to my mind. Both of them recollect you with affection, imd ask a place in yours as the only return they could ever wish or think of. I am with great esteem Dear Madam Your most obedient humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). See note to TJ to Paradise, 6 Jan. 1790. Enclosure: Dupl of TJ to Paradise, 6 Jan. 1790.

To Fulwar Skipwith DEAR SIR New York June 23.1790. You will have recieved by the last post your commission of Consul for Martinique, which will include the agencies of Ste. Lucie, Tobago, and Cayenne, the agents to be appointed by yourself of such persons natives or foreigners, resident there, or who may go there, as you please. Any reasonable delay of your departure which may be necessary for you to arrange your affairs here will be allowed you. Instructions will be prepared in the course of the summer, and [560 )

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forwarded to you either here or there. I suppose some small emolument will be allowed on every vessel arriving within your consulate; but of this I cannot speak with certainty. A bill is preparing for that purpose. It's ultimate form and fate very incertain. Be so good as to keep me informed always where letters will find you. I am with great esteem Dear Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). Tr (DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 121). Skipwith replied to this letter 6 July 1790 from Richmond: he would embark a month later from New York, where he would pay his respects to TJ, and would not therefore need instructions before leaving Virginia, adding: "Our Summer has been productive of a fruitfull harvest of Wheat, and of uncommon prospects' in other produce. Your friends are well and I believe doing pretty well except my Cousin Skipwith who I am apprehensive will make a much regretted exit to her acquaintances e'er long" (RC in DLC; endorsed as received 13 July 1790 and so recorded in SIL). But on 17 July 1790 Skipwith wrote from Norfolk that the approaching hurricane season and the finding a suitable opportunity there had n.ade him decide to embark the next day. He said he was "in the dark as

to any emolument" to which his commission entitled him, requested T J to send the instructions soon, and added that he had a copy of the Consular Convention of 1788 and would make that the guide of his conduct (RC in DNA: RG 59, CD; endorsed by TJ as received 28 July 1790 and so recorded in S:rL) • On 30 Aug. 1790 Skipwith wrote T J from Martinique that he still had not received the instructions and that the governor, having received no notification of the Consular Convention from the French government, was not empowered to grant an exequatur, adding: "IT in this he is right, it is something strange that his Court or that he should have kept himself officially ignorant of the commercial regulations of his Country" (RC in DNA: RG 59, CD; endorsed by TJ as received 2 Nov. 1790 and so recorded in SIL).

To Thomas Walker New York June 23. 1790.

DEAR SIR

I have duly recieved your favor of June 7. and really wish it were in my power to give a satisfactory opinion as to what should be done relative to the grant of lands therein mentioned: but my absence and attention to other subjects have rendered these so little familiar to my mind, that I am not competent to advise in them. If I recollect rightly, Mr. Mason's land law was intended by him to lay asleep all Western claims which were not within the descriptions inserted in the law, or which should not comply with the conditions then pointed out. If this grant is saved under these descriptions or conditions I should imagine a caveat would secure what others have located on them, and that for the residue the Register could refuse his receipt. If they are not saved by those descriptions or conditions, the assembly alone can relieve, and the power will not remain with them but till the independance of the Western country shall be [561 ]

24 JUNE 1790

acknoleged. Thus, you see, Sir, I have ~othing but hypothesis and conjecture, instead of advice, to offer. The gentlemen of the law within our state can decide it on better grounds. Our last advices from Europe shew an extensive war in the North of Europe certain, and render one probable between England and Spain, in which it is probable that France also would engage. I hope that peace and profit will be our lot. Perhaps it may dispose both powers to accomodate us in the affairs of the Western posts and the Missisipi. Accept my cordial wishes for your health and happiness, and assurances of the sincere esteem & respect with which I am Dear Sir Your friend & servant, TH: JEFFERSON Mr. Daniel Smith is appointed Secretary of the territory South of the Ohio. PrC (DLC). RC (DLC: Rives Papers); MS tom on outer edge, affecting some words of text; addressed: "Doctor Thomas Walker at Castlehill in Albemarle Virginia. To be put into the Richmond mail and forwarded thence

by the Charlottesville post"; franked, endorsed, and postmarked: "NEWYORK ,. june ,. 23" and "FREE." On MR. MASON'S LAND LAW of 1779, see Vol. 2: 133-67.

To the President of Pennsylvania New York June 24. 1790. SIR I have the honor to inclose you an article taken from a newspaper, too interesting in it's nature not to excite attention. If the persons therein mentioned be really in captivity with the Algerines, it is important that government be assured of it. At the same time there is within my knowledge a circumstance of strong presumption that we have no such captives there; and the suspicion is but too obvious that this tale may be contrived to cover an act of piracy committed by the pretended captives. The means of investigation are so slender that it is essential to omit none of them. I am therefore obliged to take the liberty of requesting your Excellency to have enquiry made into the facts stated to have taken place in your city, and that this be done so as to excite no alarm which might occasion the disappearance of the informants named in the paper. [It can doubtless be known in Philadelphia whether such a ship as the Julius Caesar commanded by a Capt. Squires belonged about 5. years ago to that city? What was her crew, her emploiment &c. whether the circumstances of her disappearance indicate a piracy or a capture?]l And such other particulars as your Excellency

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may think pertinent to the case, and will be so good as to honour me with the communication of. I have the honor to be with sentiments of the most profound respect and esteem Your Excy's most TH: JEFFERSON obedt. & mo. hble. servt., PrC (DLC); with following note by TJ in margin opposite bracketed passage (see note 1) : "[Pres]ident [Pe]nsylva." Tr (DLC: Washington Papers); at head of text: "Copy"; at foot of text: "His Excellency the President of Pennsylvania." FC (DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 120); at head of text: "To the President of Pennsylvania, and the Governors of South Carolina and Massachusetts." Tr and FC are accompanied by copies of the extract from (N.Y.) Daily Advertiser (see enclosure printed below) and by the following note: "Note. In the Letter to the Governor of South Carolina, the scored Lines in the preceding Letter were omitted, and the following inserted.-"It can doubtless be known in Charleston whether about five Years ago such a Ship as the Julius Cresar, commanded by a Capt. Squires and belonging to Philadelphia, sailed from Charleston for any Part of Spain-what was her crew-whether any circumstances of her Disappearance are known, which may lead us to judge whether she has suffered Capture or Piracy. If the informant, Archibald Ross, should proceed to Charleston, his further and more formal Examination may perhaps lead to further Discoveries. I shall thank you for these, and such other particulars. s.c: "-Note. In the Letter to the Governor of Massachusetts, the scored Lines in that to the President of Pennsylvania were omitted, and the following inserted. "It can be known at Boston whether a Vessel has arrived there, as is stated, from Spain-whether such Persons as Archibald Ross and Archibald Deacon came on board herwhere that Vessel picked them up, and under what circumstances; and if Archibald Deacon be at Boston, as this paper says, a formal Examination of him may perhaps lead to further DiScoveries. I shall thank you for these, and such other Particulars s.c:" Tr (DLC: Washington Papers; Pre in DLC: TJ Papers, 232: 41509). These letters are recorded separately, not as a circular, in SJL. Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania replied on 1 July 1790 that "only one ship called the Cresar and commanded by Capt. Miller, who lives at this Time in Philadelphia," had sailed from that

port since the treaty of peace, and that it was supposed there "that Archibald Ross has fabricated his Tale for the Purpose of obtaining occasional Aids in his Route to Carolina." Mifflin enclosed a letter from Sharp Delany, collector of the port of Philadelphia, to Charles Biddle, 30 June 1790, reading: "I have carefully examined the Entries for six Years back, and find no such Ship as the Julius Cresar, Squires. When I first saw the Article in the Newspapers I looked on it as a Forgery, and got one of my Clerks at that Time to examine. Doctr Phile this morning has made a Search, but could find no such Vessel or Master. The only Vessels partly similar even in name, are the Cresar, William Miller, from Jamaica, April 13th. 1784, a Gentleman now with us" (Tr of both in DLC: Washington Papers and in DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 120; recorded in SJL as received 8 July 1790). Charles Pinckney of South Carolina replied on 2 Aug. 1790: "In answer to your favor of the 24th June I have the honor to acquaint you that I have made all the Enquiry in my power into the circumstances of the affair alluded to but without being able to obtain much information. The result of my enquiries is that Archibald Ross is not at present in Charleston or at least is not to be found and that no such Ship as the Julius Cresar Captain Squires has cleared from this port since 1782" (RC in DNA: RG 59, Misc. Letters Received; recorded in SJL as received 26 Aug. 1790. Tr in DNA: RG 59, PCC No. 120). John Hancock of Massachusetts replied on 3 Aug. 1790 that he had "immediately directed that Enquiry should be made in a Manner so secret as not to excite an Alarm, which might cause the Disappearance of Archibald Deacon, upon the Supposition of his being in Town." He added that several vessels had arrived from Spain but information could be obtained from only one: the master of that informed him that "while he was in Spain he heard nothing of the Matter, and that no Person under the Name of Archibald Deacon came Passenger with him; so that there is Room for Suspicion as you suggest, that this Tale may have been

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24 JUNE 1790 contrived to cover an Act of Piracy committed by the pretended Captives" (Tr in same and in DLC: Washington Papers; recorded in SJL as received 9 Aug. 1790). Mter receiving this information, TJ caused the story to be published as fraudulent. The New-York Journal, 51 Aug. 1790, said that this "lamentable story • • . has been discovered to be a forged story, to impose upon the fine feelings and charitable dispositions of the benevolent. The ac-

count above referred to was not published in this paper." It should be noted that TJ started the investigation on the very day that the account was first published. 1 This passage bracketed in PrC by TJ and substitute texts for it employed in the letters to the governors of Massachusetts and South Carolina, as indicated in note above.

ENe LOS U R E

Account of a Sailor Calling himself Archibald Ross Petersburgh June 10th. On Thursday last came to this Town on his way to Charleston a Man, who says his Name is Archibald Ross, and gives the following account of himself: That about five Years ago he entered as Mate on board a Ship called Julius Cresar, belonging to Philadelphia, commanded by Captain Squires, which was then lying at Charleston and about to sail to Calais in Spain: That after they had proceeded on their Voyage as far as the Western Islands, they were taken by two Algerine Vessels and carried to Algiers: That the third Day after their Arrival there, the whole of the Ship's Company, which consisted of twenty two, including the Captain and himself, received Sentence of Slavery for Life: That part of them, vizt. John Henderson, John Wilkinson, John Woodrow, Archibald Kidd, James Cary, William Wells, Archibald Mc.Caleb, John Young, Luther Eldriken, Peter Stirling, John Mc.Callum, William Spiers and Martin Barr, were sent into the Country, and chained along side of Mules to work them; (This he says is the usual Manner in which they work their Slaves on Land) another of the Ship's Company, William Woodrow, being a handsome young Man, was castrated and sent to the Seraglio to take care of the Women; the Remainder, vizt. Captain Squires, himself, John Smith, Archibald Deacon, William Jackson, David Smith, David Davis (Carpenter) and William Mc.Graw, were sent on board a Galley, and chained to the Oars: That Captain Squires died while in Slavery: That during their Confinement, those who were on board the Galley made several Attempts to make their Escape; but all proved fruitless, until about five Months ago, when a favorable Opportunity offered to clear themselves of their inhuman Masters; to effect this, they killed one or two of the Guard, confined the rest, seized upon a small Galley that was lying near the one they were in, and set sail for old Gibralter, where they arrived in a few Hours, and once more enjoyed their Liberty: But notwithstanding they had obtained this, they were without Cloathing, Provision, or Money to purchase them, and the only Way they had to raise Money was by selling the Galley they run away with. This was purchased by some Person residing there for 600 dollars; but who never paid them a Shilling for it, so that on their first Arrival in a Christian Country,

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25 JUNE 1790 they experienced a Piece of Roguery that no Savage would exercise upon their distressed fellow Creatures. In this Situation they would have suffered very much if it had not been for the English Consul, who very kindly furnished them with some Necessaries, until an Opportunity offered to them to sail to their respective Friends. A Vessel being about to sail from Spain for Boston, himself and Archibald Deacon entered on board of her, and arrived there safe, where he left Archibald Deacon, and proceeded on in a Vessel bound to Fredericksburg, from which Place he came here on his Way to Charleston, where his Friends reside. The said Ross also informs, that he saw a Captain Henry Whiting belonging to Virginia in Slavery; and that it is generally supposed, the Turks have 4000 Christians in Slavery, amongst which are about 220 Sea-Captains. Tr (DLC: Washington Papers); in Remsen's hand; at head of text: "From the Daily Advertiser-June 24th. 1790." Another Tr (DNA: RG 59, PCC, No. 120); same caption. The text of enclosure appears in (N.Y.) Daily Advertiser, 24 June 1790.

From Alexander Donald Richmond 25th.June 1790. I was sincerely grieved to find that you been indisposed. Your obliging letter of the 13th. has given me some relief. I pray that your next may announce your perfect recovery. No man in the United States wishes you the full and compleat enjoyment of all earthly Blessings more sincerely than I do, and Good health is with great justice ranked amongst the very first of them. Colo. Heth's letter has been received by the Publick, as I flattered myself it would be. I find if I may depend on my Friends, that his conduct is universally condemned, and that he has been told so by those who are most intimate with him. I believe he has consulted with Mr. Randolph and Mr. Nelson propriety of prosecuting the suit against Mr. Brown. What opinion they have given I do not know; but I am told by my Friend Mr. Harrison of Brandon that the latter has always told him that the Citizens bill alone entitles Capt. Butler to all the rights and Priviledges of a Citizen. Colo. Heth has gotten duplicates of Butlers deposition, as well as of several others, which I presume he will lay before the Secretary of the Treasury. I will take the liberty of inclosing the whole to you soon, and if they do not prove satisfactory to you I shall be much mistaken indeed. You have too much reason Sir to think that I have upon every occasion, but however strong appearances are against me, I do assure you that I have ever done my utmost to oblige you. But I am sorry to say that I have not succeeded to my wish. Your Hhd. of DEAR SIR

[565 ]

25 JUNE 1790

hams was sent to Norfolk as soon as it came down, it was put into the vessel from the waggon that brought it down. Of course no time was lost here. I sent it under a particular charge to Mr. Wm. Cuthbert at Norfolk, and I wrote him to forward it directly to you, least it might be injured by the Hot weather, and I desired him to take two receipts for it from the Person who was to carry it to New York, one of which to be sent you, and the other to me; not having heard from him in two or three weeks after the hams were sent from this, I wrote him again about them, and I have written him a third letter since the receipt of your last favour. I hope to hear from him by this night's Post, if so you will be advised what he says. In the mean time please receive his receipt for the hams. 7. oClo: The Packet letters being arrived, I find there is a prospect of a war between Britain and Spain. I sincerely wish it may turn out so, as I am sure it must be attended with the most beneficial consequence to this Country. But I fear that the Dons will succumb. I expect to leave this State in two or three weeks. Will you do me the favour to honour me with your commands for Europe? You will oblige me by doing so, and you may be assured that I will attend to them most pointedly. I am with great consideration Dear Sir Your Obt. &: mo. humb. St., A. DONALD Mr. Brown is this instant returned from Norfolk, and he tells me that your hams are gone forward by Capt. White, who he is told is in a Packet that goes regularly between the two places, from which I hope you have received them by this day. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 3 July 1790 and so recorded in SIL. Cuthbert's receipt for the hams was not enclosed (see Donald to TJ, 2 July 1790). On receiving the present letter, TJ made immediate inquiry for the "parcel of bacon hams," and on 4 July 1790 wrote to William Cuthbert: "I find that Capt. White has been here and is gone again without saying or leaving a word on the subject. Not knowing the reason of this, and the delay of such a commodity at this season being exactly the loss of it, 1 must beg the favor of you to forward me his bill of lading or receipt by post" (PrC in DLC; not recorded in SIL). On 14 July 1790 Cuthbert replied: "I am ••• really vexed that in the conveyance of your Cask Hams so great detention has occurred. They arrived here from Richmond when the packet was in the Harbour, the trip

before last; 1 urge the Craftsman to get them out so as then to have them shipped, but from his being loaded with Tobacco they could not be got at until after Capt. White sailed, and from want of opportunity were unavoidably detained till his return. On the 30th. Ulto. 1 shipped them, and along with White enclosed you one of the Bills of lading"; on receiving TJ's letter, Cuthbert asked White about the shipment, who told him that on his arrival in New York he had sent a letter to TJ "and that the Cask was landed and put into Mr. Daniel Rodmans store" (RC in MHi; endorsed as received 27 July 1790 and so recorded in SIL)" Meantime TJ received an undated letter from Cuthbert enclosing the bill of lading (not found but recorded in SJL as received 8 July 1790), and on 1 Aug. 1790 wrote him the following: "I

[566 ]

25 JUNE 1790 have duly recieved your favor of July 14. and have to thank you for your attention to the Commission Mr. Donald had been so kind as to charge you with for me. Capt. White's failure to give me notice of his having brought me the hogshead of hams produced no other evil, than the apprehension they would

suffer if kept in a hot store house. Upon his return here I sent to him, and received them in good order. The not delivering them sooner had been a mere negligence between him and another person. I have thus thought it my duty not to leave you in a moment's suspence on this subject" (PrC in MHi).

From David Rittenhouse Philadelphia June 25th. 1790. DR. SIR Since my last letter (and not before) I have read Mr. Whitehursts Book on the Subject of Measures. Amongst the many different ways of obtaining the Same End, the Method proposed by him seems to be a very good one. I see no reason to object to the lenghth he has assigned from experiments, to a pendulum vibrating seconds in the Latitude of London Vizt. 39.1196 inches. You Suppose (page 4.) the English foot = 11. pou. 3. lines French. i.e. as 15. to 16. Dr. Maskelyne in the 58 Vol. of Transactions Page 324 States the proportion as 107 to 114, and afterward, page 326, more Correctly as 36. to 38.367. 1 If we adopt this, then .0276558 will be a Constant logarithm for reducing English to french measure and the Contrary. Sir Isaac Newton determines the Earth to be an Oblate Spheroid, having its Axis to the Equatorial diameter as 229 to 230. He then proceeds to shew that the weights of equal Bodies on the Earths surface will be inversely as their distances from the Center and consequently that the lenghths of pendulums vibrating in equal times will be directly as the distance from the Center." To determine the distance of any point in an Ellipsis from the Center is not a difficult, but a tedious problem. He therefore judiciously observes that if the difference of the lenghths be taken as the Square of the Lines of the latitude the result will be sufficiently accurate. This may be demonstrated thus. Let xC = polar radius, and CB = Equatorial radius. This rad. . x :: Sine Lat. . y = the quantity by which the Sine yA is reduced. But from similarity of Trii--------------'':---t"]3 angles, as rad .. Sine Lat :: y to . . z. The reduction of Cy from the rad that is

[567 ]

25 JUNE

1790

x X Sine d sine X Y h f x X Sine X Sine = y an d = z t ere ore =z ra r rad and Since the radius and x are both constant z will be as the Square of the Sine of the Lat. Sir Isaac again says that this reduction of distance from the greatest, or CB will be as the Versed Sine of Double the Latitude, which I thus demonstrate. Let SA be the Sine of the Lat. Make SB double SE. and BO = SB: Thus BD will be the Versed Sine of double the arc of the Latitude. But because the triangles are similar, as rad, or CS . . SA :: 2 SA, or SB . . to BD. But it must be observed that in this Case Newton carries the Versed Sine thro' the whole diameter of the Circle, so o that his Versed Sine of 100. 0 will be = radius Sine of 10. 0

+

Newtons Table Makes the lenghth of a Second pendulum at the Equator 3 feet 7.468 lines 36.6223* pouces Log 1.5637460 add .0276553 Equator Pendulum, English, 39.03024 = 1.5914013 at Lat. 90 3 feet. 9.387 lines 36.78225 pouces Log 1.5656383 .0276553 1.5932936 = English 39.20068 Pendulum at the poles

=

0

=

=

=

0.17044 difference for 90. As the Versed Sine of twice 90 To Versed Sine of twice 51. 0 31' So is 0

to Add to Pendulum As Versed Sine of twice 90 to Versed Sine of twice 48. 0 50' So is 0

to Add to Pendm. for

= +

0

= =

log = 4.3010300

20,000. 12,255+ 17,044

=4,0883197

4,2315715 8.3198912 10,444 = 4,0188612 39.03024 Equator pendulum 39.13468 for J.at 51. 0 31.'

= 20,000 Log =4.3010300 = 11,334+ =4.0543869 17044

=

4.2315715 8.2859584 3.9849284

.09659 39.03024. 39.12683 Lat. 48. 0 50.'

[568 ]

25 JUNE 1790 is 39.11546 Inches

[ ... ] pendulum for 45. 0 do. for 51.° 31' Difference Pendulum for 45 0 for 48. 0 50'

= 39.13468 =

=

.01922 39.11546 39.12683

Difference

.01137

So that I make the differences between the Latitudes for 45 0 51. 0 31.' and 48. 0 50' to agree nearly with your differences Viz . . 019 and .0112. But I cannot conceive how you make the paris pendulum 39.1923, English measure, if it be 36.71428 french, according to the Bishop of Autun. For if we take the proportion of English to french measure 15 to 16 it will be but 39.1619. But As Maskelyne States the proportion of Measures, only 39.1283. From the above it appears that Newtons Measure for Lat. 51. 0 31' is greater than that deduced from Experiment by Whitehurst by 1 ~ goof an inch, and for Lat. 48. 0 50' less than According to the Bishop of Autun by _1_,_ of an inch. Both differences are in1000

considerable, and it is impossible to say whether Whitehursts Experiment was faulty or whether we are mistaken in Supposing the Earths Axis to be to its Equatorial Diameter as 229 to 230. As soon as I read your mention of Frisi of Milan the name seemed familiar to me, and I was in hopes of finding his Book. But I have only found a printed Account, that a prize on the question of the uniformity of the Earths diurnal Motion, was adjudged by the Petersburg Academy to Paul Frisi professor of Mathematics at Milan. I will endeavour to find it if it be in this City. Would you have me send Emerson or Ferguson or any other Book that is to be had here? Opportunities are not wanting daily by the Stage. In the Year 1785 Some Experiments were made in England, with all imaginable parade of Accuracy, and recorded in the Philosophical Transactions from which it appears that English plate Brass Expands with 20. 0 of Fahrenheit 4: 55 part of its whole lenghth. And a Steel rod

7

~62

part. As the difference in our Climate

between the greatest Cold in Winter and the greatest heat of Summer cant well be estimated more than 100. 0 a Steel pendulum will not be liable to vary its lenghth more than 2 ~ 70 part of its whole lenghth, and in Close rooms probably not more than making a variation of about 20"

~

2~00

part,

Day. This agrees with Newtons

[ 569 }

25 JUNE 1790 Supposition, for the difference of temperature of the Air, within doors in England may be estimated at about 60° of fahrenheit. I ought perhaps to be more particular about the Comparison of English and French Measures as you may not have the 58th. Vol. of Transactions. Dr. Maskelyne procured from Mr. De La Lande two Iron Copies of the French Toise. Mr. Bird on comparing them found them to differ only 1 0 ~ 0 of an Inch. A mean of the two measured with the Royal Societies Brass Standard in Temperature of 62° was found to be 76.734 inches, which is the proportion I have taken above. I intended to have copied the above Scrawl, but thinking that you will find it legible, I hope you will excuse it as it is. I wish it may be in my power to serve you in this or any other matter, tho' the very bad state of my health [seems] to prevent my promising much. I am, Dear Sir, with great respect and gratitude Your sincere friend & humble Servant, D. RITTENHOUSE HC (DLC); endorsed as received 29 June 1790 and so recorded in SJL. 1 TJ placed an asterisk at this point and then wrote in the margin: "11 po. 3.11 lignes." 2 TJ bracketed the words "the dis-

tance from the center," interlined "these weights or the gravity of the place," and then, at top of page and keyed to this point by an asterisk, began the quotation from Newton: "longitudines pendulorum duplicatibus temporibus oscillantium, sunt ut gravitates."

From William Short DEAR SIR Paris June the 25th. 1790 [Since my last I have seen the General of the Mathurins, who gives little hopes of any thing being done for our captives through his chanel, although he continues assurances of his zeal in case of any opportunity presenting itself, and I am persuaded he may be counted on as to these assurances. He had begun by transmitting a small sum of money to a person of confidence at Algiers to relieve the more pressing necessities of the captives. The person who was charged with this commission found on enquiry that the captives received a daily allowance, which rendered this relief unnecessary and therefore returned the money. He found also that the opinion at Algiers was, that the allowance of the prisoners was made by the United States, an opinion which would necessarily augment the difficulty of their redemption. The General added that the critical situation in which the religious orders had been for some [570 ]

25 JUNE 1790

time had rendered it impossible for him to take any step in this business, that he hoped however some arrangement would be soon made which would enable him to resume those pious occupations; and that he should be always ready to offer his ministry in behalf of the American captives. The supplies which they have received came certainly from the Spanish Consul. I transmitted some time ago to Mr. Jay an account of them which was sent me by one of the captives. The General of the Mathurins considered those supplies too considerable, as they would necessarily excite at the same time the suspicions and the avarice of the Algerines. It would have the appearance of cruelty to forbid further supplies from any person whatsoever, and to let the prisoners depend as it were on the charity of the Mathurins, who might be furnished with small sums from time to time for that purpose-but it is perhaps the only means of shortening their captivity. Whoever remains here should be authorized fully to act according to circumstances with respect to the captives.]1 Saturday evening last may be considered as the complement of the 4th. of August. A kind of enthusiasm took place in the assembly and spread from one member to another until they seemed to be at a loss what sacrifice to make or what prejudice to attack. Among the nobles the one proposed the abolition of all titles such as Dukes, Counts &c. another that not only the titles but even the names of estates should be abolished so as to leave each his original name-a third that coats of arms and liveries should be prohibited. A decree was passed in consequence. It seems to have affected many of the Noblesse more deeply than the loss of their property. There is some hope that the King will exercise his veto as to such parts of the decree as were produced only by a blind enthusiasm, and appear ridiculous when considered cooly. It is known that the ministry are divided on the question, and that those who are least in favor of the operations in general of the assembly are against the exercise of the veto in this case. It was decreed at the same time to remove the figures which are chained at the feet of Lewis the 14th. at the place des Victoires. Besides their being emblems of conquest and slavery, it was said that one of them representing the Province of Franche-Comte, would be an humiliation to the deputies of the garde nationale of that province, who are to assemble here on the 14th. of July.-The enthusiasm of that night was brought on by a kind of ambassade of the foreigners of several different countries, now in Paris. They went with an address, to the bar of the house, in which they compliment the assembly, speak of the chains of

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25 JUNE 1790

tyranny under which their several countries groan, and their hopes that the decrees of the assembly will set all the world at liberty. They end by a desire to be allowed to join the procession of the 14th. of July. Their request was granted them in an answer from the President, in which he tells them that it is granted on the condition of their returning to their countries and telling their sovereigns and their fellow-citizens what they have seen in France. This embassy as you may suppose, was composed of people little known, and is compared with some kind of justice, to that from Siam which was conjured up under the reign of Lewis the 14th. merely to flatter his love of ostentation, and which has been since known to have been formed by a Jew dressed up for that purpose. The patriots gazettes here have given a magnificent account of this embassy and have added to the list the names of several countries who had not any of its citizens there. It may certainly be objected to the national assembly that they use too little moderation with respect to the opinions and interests of foreign powers, and it is not impossible that it may excite them numerous and dangerous enemies. Besides the German Princes who have claims in France and who will probably be well supported by the enemies of France, there is another diplomatic question which they are now engaging in and which may lead them farther than they expect. Avignon and the Comtat have thrown off their allegiance to the Pope. The first wishes to form a part of the French Empire and have sent deputies to the assembly to sollicit it. The communications of these deputies have been received and referred to a committee. The Comtat wishes to be independent and to form a treaty of alliance and commerce with France. The different parties of Aristocrats and Democrats, as they are called, in Avignon came to blows. Several were killed on both sides and among them M. de Rochegude. The gardes nationales of the several municipalities of France in that neighbourhood marched into Avignon to the relief of the popular party, arrested the leaders of their opponents and brought them to Orange to be confined and tried there. That is one among many instances where the municipalities have forgotten that they were not sovereigns. The assembly passes decrees ad hoc from time to time to recall them within their proper limits. In general they comply with the decree, but no uniform mode of coercion is yet found out for preventing such transgressions. The assembly have fixed their future ecclesiastical establishments. The plan was formed by a committee of rigid Jansenists [572 J

25 JUNE 1790

whose objective is to recall the clergy to their primitive simplicity. They are to be elective. There is to be a bishopric in each department. The curates are to become bishops and are to be paid moderately. The present Clergy have had their fate determined also in a manner which is considered unjust both as to themselves and their creditors. The highest salaries of such Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops as continue their functions are to be 30,000.tt except the Archbishop of Paris, who is allowed 75,OOO.tt Most of the rich clergy will be bankrupt, as they had in general debts proportioned to their income. Their creditors and all those who depended on them for subsistence are thus added to the class of discontented. Another plan much more favorable was proposed by Thouret, but rejected by a large majority. This decision served to shew how weak the most leading members of the assembly are when in opposition with the spirit of the times. The Marquis de la fayette, The Duke de la Rochefoucauld, Chapellier all spoke in favor of Thouret's plan, but they had not more than thirty of the Cote gauche who voted with them. Such is the present exasperation against the Clergy. Some of them count on relief from foreign interposition; that will depend however on future combinations. England seems to have cultivated an opportunity of entering on the scene in future if it should be thought advisable. There is a Catholic establishment in Paris founded formerly by a Scotch Bishop. The English Minister here has presented a memorial in which he reclaims the preservation of the present establishment, or the permission of its being sold for the purpose of the present members establishing themselves in some other country. This was referred to the ecclesiastical committee some time ago, and no report has been yet made on it. This Government have judged proper to withdraw their troops from Pondicherry, except a few men who are left there merely as a proof of possession. It shews they had apprehensions of hostilities there and a fear of the garrison not being sufficient to resist. The measure is considered prudent here. I forgot to mention to you in the beginning of my letter that the mode by which this Government redeemed their prisoners lately at Algiers was not by purchasing them individually. M. de Senneville was sent there to renew the treaty of Alliance with the Regency for an hundred years. He succeeded and the prisoners were delivered as a consequence of the treaty. I have it from good authority that the renewal of the treaty cost about 800,OOO.tt As you seem particularly anxious to have the Leyden gazettes [ 573 ]

26 JUNE 1790

I inclose them in this letter to go by post to Havre. The gazettes

of France and Journals of the assembly shall be sent by another conveyance. I am with sentiments of the most perfect esteem &: respect, Dear Sir , Your most obedient humble servant, W: SHORT PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head captives, 28 Dec. 1790. Recorded in SJL of text: "No.34." Tr (DNA: RG 59, as received 25 Oct. 1790. DD). Tr of Extract (DLC). Another 1 Passage enclosed in brackets (supTr of Extract (DNA: RG 59, MLR). For identification of extracts, see note plied) comprises matter in Tr of Ex1, below; see also, report on Algerine tract, noted above.

To David Rittenhouse DEAR SIR New York June 26.1790. Your favor of the 21st. came duly to hand, and I admit all your corrections with great thankfulness. The first was an inaccuracy of expression. I meant to say that there existed not in nature anyone species of body or thing, such as a digit, palm, span, foot, cubit, barley corn &:c. which furnished us with a constant uniform dimension. I have corrected it accordingly. The statement of the expansion of the rod was an error in having multiplied the number only once, instead of twice, by 12. I have stated in a note the reason for continuing the double expressions, and having made the other corrections, all of which fall within the first sheet, I send you a third edition of that sheet, to be substituted in place of the former. I do this in order to save time, wishing to have your corrections of my corrections. I am in'hopes this will not be the last trouble which this business is to give you, and that you will feel some interest in seeing that we set out right. I am my dear sir with great affection your sincere friend &: servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). For a note on the enclosure, see note, Document VIT, under

4 July

1790.

To George Gilmer DEAR DOCTOR New York June 27. 1790. I have duly recieved your favor of May 21. and thank you for the details it contains. Congressional proceedings go on rather heavily. The question for assuming the state debts has created greater animosities than I ever yet saw take place on any occasion. There are three ways in which it may yet terminate. 1. A rejection [574 J

27 JUNE 1790

of the measure which will prevent their funding any part of the public debt, and will be something very like a dissolution of the government. 2. A bargain between the Eastern members who have it so much at heart, and the middle members who are indifferent about it, to adopt those debts without any modification on condition of removing the seat of government to Philadelphia or Baltimore. 3. An adoption of them with this modification that the whole sum to be assumed shall be divided among the states in proportion to their census; so that each shall receive as much as they are to pay; and perhaps this might bring about so much good humour as to induce them to give the temporary seat of government to Philadelphia, and then to Georgetown permanently. It is evident that this last is the least bad of all the turns the thing can take. The only objection to it will be that Congress will then have to lay and collect taxes to pay these debts, which could much better have been laid and collected by the state governments. This, tho' an evil, is a less one than any of the others in which it may issue, and will probably give us the seat of government at a day not very distant, which will vivify our agriculture and commerce by circulating thro' our state an additional sum every year of half a million of dollars.-When the last packet left England there was great appearance of an immediate rupture with Spain. Should that take place, France will become a party. I hope peace and profit will be our share. Present my best esteem to Mrs. Gilmer and my enquiring neighbors. I am Dear Doctor Your affectionate friend & TH: JEFFERSON servt., PrC (DLC).

To Delamotte New York June 27. 1790.

DEAR SIR

Your favor of Dec. 12. came to hand the 6th. of April, and I have so long postponed answering it, in expectation daily of being able to accompany the answer with a commission to you to be viceconsul of the United states at Havre. That commission is at length made out. With respect to the arrangement with the Farmers general on the subject of salt, I presume the suppression of the gabelles will supercede all necessity of renewing it. I am to thank you for the trouble you have taken to procure me

[575 J

27 JUNE 1790

the Shepherd's dog and bitch. The bitch I bought the day I left Havre produced two puppies on our passage, which with their mother I carried safely to my own house and left them there alive and well: so that I am tolerably secure of the breed. Were a vessel to be coming from Havre to this port or Philadelphia directly, the dogs you speak of, if you have them still on hand, might be sent. Were they to come to any other port I could never get them but at greater expence than they would be worth now that I have the breed. So that if you still have them, and there is no direct passage for them to either of these ports, it would be better to give them away. Perhaps indeed my own servant and baggage will have come from Havre before this reaches you. Be so good as to draw for what I am in your debt, on Mr. Short in Paris, and receive it with great thankfulness for that and all other favors from Dear Sir your most obedient humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Robert Leslie New York June 27. 1790. I find among the letters to Mr. Jay, one from Mr. Coxe on the subject of the vibrating rod thought of by you for a standard of measures: and I have received from Mr. Madison a manuscript pamphlet of yours on the same subject. Congress having referred to me to propose a plan of invariable measures, I have considered maturely your proposition, and am abundantly satisfied of it's ability; so that if I can have your leave, I mean to propose in my report to adopt the rod in preference to the pendulum, mention[ing] expressly that we are indebted to you for the idea. Should they concur with me in opinion it is possible that in carrying it into execution we may have occasion to engage your assistance in the proper adjustment of it, as well on account of your abilities in that line generally, as for the peculiar interest you would feel in the success of the experiment. Mr. Coxe's letter to Mr. Jay seems to imply that you had communicated your idea, that I might avail myself of it in the subject referred to me; burt] I think it justice to ask your express permission, and that you will be so good as to give me an answer by return of post. I am Sir Your most obedt. humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). On Leslie's (missing) manuscript and the letter to Jay from Coxe, see Editorial Note and Document I, under 4 July 1790.

[576 ]

To David Ramsay New York June 27. 1790. DEAR SIR Your favor of April 12. came safely to hand, and permit me to thank you for the copy of your history which I have received from Allen, and hope to have the pleasure of reading in a few days. When the last packet left England there was great appearance of a rupture with Spain. The latter will probably go far in concession, if concession will parry a war. If it cannot, I think France will engage in it rather than see the Spanish fleet annihilated and their empire dismembered. Congress proceed heavily. Their funding plans are embarrassed with a proposition to assume the state debts, which is as disagreeable to a part of the Union as desireable to another part. I hope some compromise will be found. Great endeavors are using to get the temporary seat of government to Philadelphia, and the permanent one to Georgetown. The counterproject is New York and Baltimore. No time for their adjournment can be yet calculated on. I am with great esteem Dear Sir your most obedt. & most humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Martha Jefferson Randolph My DEAR MARTHA New York June 27. 1790. My last news from you were conveyed in your letter of May 28. I ascribe this to your present ambulatory life. I hope when you are more in the way of the post, I shall receive letters regularly once a week from one or other of you, as I write regularly once a week myself. In my letter of the last week to Mr. Randolph I mentioned the appearances ofa war between England and Spain. We have nothing newer on that subject. There is a report indeed that there are three British frigates off our cost; but I know not on what it is founded. I think it probable that Congress will pass a bill for removing to Philadelphia for ten years, and then to Georgetown. The question will be brought on tomorrow ,and it's fate be determined probably in the course of the ensuing week. I shall not be able to decide the time of my coming to Virginia till Congress shall have adjourned. The moment I can fix it I will inform you of it. I inclosed you the last week a letter from some of your English acquaintance. I now inclose you an engraving of the President done

[577 ]

27 JUNE 1790 by Wright who drew the picture of him which I have at Paris. My tender affections attend you all. Adieu, my dear. Your's affectionTH: JEFFERSON ately, He (NNP). Pre (MHi).

To George Thompson New York June 27. 1790. SIR I have duly received your favor of the 15th. instant. I cannot with certainty answer on the subject of Colo. Randolph's subscription: but I have some imperfect recollection that the subscription wanted a certain sum to enable the work to be commenced, and that Colo. Randolph, rather than let it fall thro' for want of that sum, desired me to subscribe it in his name. He had expectations of profiting by it, as the upper landing was to be at Edgehill, or at least of it's adding to the value of his lands more than the sum wanting. With respect to my own subscription, I imagined it had been paid; but I do not particularly remember that it has. Mr. Lewis can tell by looking over my cash books, and if he finds the last half has not been paid he will be so good as to pay it for me. I am Sir Your very humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON Pre (MHi).

To Benjamin Vaughan DEAR SIR New York June 27. 1790. Your favor of March 27. came duly to hand on the 12th.inst. as did your very valuable present of the dry rice brought from the Moluccas by Lieut. Bligh. I immediately sent a few seeds to Virginia where I am in hopes there would still be force of summer sufficient to mature it. I reserve a little for next spring besides sowing some in pots, from which I have now 23. young plants just come up. I fear however there is not sumer enough remaining here to ripen them without the incertain aid of a hot-house. Upon your encouragement I think I shall venture to write to Mr. Hinton Este of Jamaica on the subject.-You will have known that we had lost Doctr. Franklin before your letter came to hand. Consequently the relation of Lt. Bligh's adventure which you were so kind as to send, rests with me. Though large countries within our Union are covered with the [578 ]

27 JUNE 1790

Sugar maple as heavily as can be concieved, and that this tree yeilds a sugar equal to the best from the cane, yeilds it in great quantity, with no other labor than what the women and girls can bestow, who attend to the drawing off and boiling the liquor, and the trees when skilfully tapped will last a great number of years, yet the ease with which we had formerly got cane sugar, had prevented our attending to this resource. Late difficulties in the sugar trade have excited attention to our sugar trees, and it seems fully believed by judicious persons, that we can not only supply our own demand, but make for exportation. I will send you a sample of it if I can find a conveyance without passing it through the expensive one of the post. What a blessing to substitute a sugar which requires only the labour of children, for that which it is said renders the slavery of the blacks necessary. An act of Congress authorising the issuing patents for new discoveries has given a spring to invention beyond my conception. Being an instrument in granting the patents, I am acquainted with their discoveries. Many of them indeed are trifling, but there are some of great consequence which have been proved by practice, and others which if they stand the same proof will produce great effect. Yesterday, the man who built the famous bridge from Boston to Charlestown was with me, asking a patent for a pile engine of his own construction. He communicated to me another fact of which he makes no secret, and it is important. He was formerly concerned in shipbuilding, but for 30. years past, has been a bridge builder. He had early in life observed on examining worm eaten ships, that the worms never eat within the seams where the corking chissel enters, and the oil &c. He had observed that the whaling vessels would be eaten to a honeycomb except a little above and below water where the whale is brought into contact with the vessel and lies beating against it till it is cut up. A plank lying under water at a mill of his had been obliged to be renewed annually, because eaten up by the worm within the course of the year. At length a plank was accidentally put down which for some purpose had been thoroughly impregnated with oil. It remained seven years without being affected. Hence he took the idea of impregnating the timber of his bridges thoroughly with oil, by heating the timber as deeply as possibly, and doing it well in that state with the liver oil of the codfish. He has practised this for 30. years and there is no instance of the worm attacking his timbers, while those in neighboring places are immediately destroyed. He has used the liver oil of the cod because very thick, and therefore as he supposes more per[579 ]

28 JUNE 1790

manent in it's effect. He supposes some other oils might do, but cannot speak of them experimentally. He sais there will be no difficulty in heating the planks of a ship after they are put on as well as before. But I do not recollect his mentioning ever to have tried it in the case of a ship. I am fixed here by the desire of my countrymen. Consequently less in the way of communications in letters and the arts than I used to be. The continuance of your communications in that way will now be received with double thankfulness. We are told you are going to war. Peace and profit I hope will be our lot. A high price and sure market for our productions, and no want of carrying business will I hope enable my countrymen to payoff both their private and public debts. I am with sentiments of sincere esteem Dear Sir your sincere friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON

P.S. The inclosed is so interesting to me personally, that I have taken the liberty of inclosing it under your cover, and asking the favor of you to send it by the first Paris Post. 1 PrC (DLC). Tr (Public Record Office, London: FOj4:8). Enclosure: probably TJ to Short, 1 July 1790. TJ's glowing account of maple sugar resources, of the growth of American inventions, and of the use of codliver oil in coating submarine timbers was intended for and obtained official notice in England: on 8 Sep. 1790 Vaughan sent a copy of TJ's letter to Evan Nepean (1751-1822), under secretary of state, saying: ''The inclosed being curious, I send it for your perusal. When you have done with it, pray send it to Sir Joseph Banks, with my compli-

ments, desiring him to favor me by its return, not having answered it" (RC, enclosing Tr of TJ's letter, in PRO). Thus the blunt aim of "peace and profit" in a private letter became almost an official warning of neutrality.-The builder of the Charles River Bridge was Lemuel Cox (1736-1806); a description of the bridge with a handsome engraving appeared in The Massachusetts Magazine, I (Sep. 1789), 533-4. See illustration in this volume. 1

Postscript not in PrC.

From John Kemp June 28. 1790 I have perused your report which you did me the honour to send me. I have paid particular attention to the calculations which I have found to be performed with great precision. If I mistake not the Standard rod for 45 0 ought to be divided into 5871h equal parts in place of 578~. The adoption of an invariable unite in measure and weight is an object much to be wished for of which I hope America will set an example to the world, and I make no doubt but in this age of reformation it will be generally followed. It is SIR

[580 ]

29 JUNE 1790 above my abilities to suggest any improvements of the plan, if it be capable of any. Wishing that the intended reformation may be soon brought about, I have the honour to be Sir Your humble Servt., JOHN KEMP RC (MoSRi); endorsed as received 28 June 1790 and so recorded in

SJL.

To Elias Boudinot New York June 29.1790. SIR As it is desire able that we should receive from our Consuls an exact report of all our vessels with their cargoes which go to the countries of their residence, such fees appear necessary as may induce them to be watchful that every such vessel is noted. At the same time the fee should not be so large as to induce them to connive at foreign vessels reporting themselves as American, merely to give them the fee. Five and ten dollars appear to me well proportioned. While I was in Europe I found there was a great want of some legal mode of taking and authenticating instruments and evidence in general, to be sent to this country; such as depositions, affidavits, copies of wills, records, deeds, powers of attorney &c. I thought it would be proper, as soon as we should have Consuls established, to make their authentications under the seal of their office, good evidence in our courts. I take the liberty of submitting to you whether a clause for these purposes might not be properly placed in this hill. I assure you the occasions for it are extremely frequent. I have the honor to be with great respect Sir, Your most obedt. humble Servt., TH: JEFFERSON RC (MHi: Washburn Collection); addressed: "The honble. Mr. Boudinot No. 12 Wall street"; endorsed. PrC (DLC). THE BILL was that relating to the consular establishment (see under 21 July 1790, note 25).

From Francis Hopkinson Philada. June 29th. 1790 DEAR SIR I have conferr'd with Mr. Franklin respecting the Encyclopedia, and we find, that in order to settle that account between us it will be necessary to know what the whole Cost will be from No. 1 to the last Liveraison. As I suppose you have a complete Set of your own, you can inform us of the Amount, which will make [581 ]

29 JUNE 1790

the matter easy between Mr. Franklin and me. He expects to be in New York in about a week and I wish you would mention the Subject to him. I will shortly draw out my Account of News-Papers, Museums &c. when every thing shall be settled to your Satisfaction. I find the Expence of the Encyclopedia will exceed my Expectations, or rather my Abilities, and therefore if it should happen in your Way to dispose of that Work for me, I shall be willing to part with it, but not under the full Cost. Perhaps as they are making up a Library at New York, it might be acceptable there. I have now had full Experience of method of tonguing the Harpsichord, and am perfectly satisfied with it. I find the Cork Tongues are very durable, produce a full and sweet Tone quite free from all Jingling, more like the effect of an Organ Pipe than a String, particularly in the Base, and are as readily furnished as a common Quill. The leather guards the Cork from being cut thro' by the String, and the Cork is sufficiently elastic for the Purpose. My former Contrivance of mounting the Tongues on Springs was thought too complex, but this objection is now removed. I send you a Model enclosed. General Dickinson has sent for one of Shudi & Broadwood's Harpsichords for his Daughter. It is expected this Fall, and will be quill'd in my way. I beg leave to recommend to your friendly notice (if you shall so approve) a Project respecting a new Manufacture of Cotton. The Contriver is very desirous of your opinion and hopes for your Encouragement. Mr. Pollard, who is the Pursuer of this Object, is a very worthy Citizen, formerly a considerable Merchant, and lately one of our Magistrates. He is sure that his Scheme will turn out to great national advantage. I am dear Sir Your ever affectionate, FRAs. HOPKINSON I still write with Difficulty, as you will observe by my frequent Blunders. HC (DLC); endorsed as received 5 July 1790 and so recorded in SJL.

From William Short Paris June the 29th. 1790

DEAR SIR

My last private was of the 14th. inst. On the 25th. I sent you my No. 34. together with a duplicate of that of the 14th. I have as yet recieved only the letters therein mentioned and of course remain in the same state of anxiety and uncertainty as when I then [582 )

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wrote. That however has not influenced the activity with which the execution of your commissions was begun. Petit and the packers assure me they lose not a moment. I mention to them frequently the necessity of sending off these things before the river gets too low, and whilst there is a probability of finding vessels at Havre bound to New-York. I have written to MM. Lemesurier & La Motte on this subject. They mentioned there were two or three vessels to sail for America in the course of this month, none however for New-York at that time. But I hope there will be little or no delay at Havre as vessels frequently arrive there. Petit thinks the packages will be all ready by the 15th. of the next month. As he will not go it will not be possible to send the animals you desire. Besides the season would have prevented the procuring some of them as I am told. You will undoubtedly be much astonished to learn the interpretation which is put on the lease you renewed last year with Count Langeac. It is said by those with whom I have consulted that you are obliged to keep it three years to count from the day of the renewal. That was certainly not your opinion. Langeac's brother who is his attorney here, during his absence, told me this was his opinion and that he was told by the notary who made the lease that there was no doubt on the subject. On my assuring him that I knew you had a different opinion, and that I was convinced Count Langeac thought as you did, he said he would immediately write to his brother on the subject. I dont doubt however that whatever may have been his former opinion he will now claim the full extent of the lease. His answer is not yet recieved. I mentioned to his brother that your wish was to get Congress to lease the house for their legation. Perhaps the hope of that may engage him to act with candor in this case. You have another chance also which is his being able to sell his house, as he has desired for some time. I have consulted Mr. Grand on the lease. He said there could be no doubt that you were obliged by it to keep the house three years from the day of the renewal. He consulted also his notary who says no other possible interpretation can be put on it. Still I am persuaded that was by no means your intention, as I have heard you frequently say you could leave the house when you pleased giving six months notice. Mr. Grand and his notary say that the prorogation of the lease is an absolute renewal of it, and of course the three years which you were obliged to keep the house cannot be counted under the former lease. I am exceedingly sorry for this misunderstanding as I am quite at a loss what to do. I hope you [583 ]

29 JUNE 1790

will lose no time in writing to me on the subject, but I fear if Langeac insists there will be no means of avoiding this interpretation of the lease. It is evident that the notary made use of expressions which he knew would have that force, and he says now it was the intention of you both. The house is necessarily to be paid for by you until six months to count from the 1st. of July, for they say also that notice must be given from one term to another, and cannot be given in the middle of a term. However the brother recieved my notification when offered and agreed in writing it should count from that day if the expressions of the lease authorized it. He was fully persuaded of the contrary as he said. On the whole, and at worst you will be obliged to keep the house fifteen months longer than you expected, and that not entirely lost as it may be rented for your account, or Langeac may be induced to abandon his claim for a small sacrifice perhaps. It is relative to this part of the business that I wish you to write without delay.-There is another means also by which this affair may be remedied. You think Congress should lease the house for their legation here. That being the case I cannot have a doubt it will be done, for I am firmly persuaded that whatever you approve of with respect to foreign affairs, will be done. It is impossible it can be otherwise. Nobody could be in that department without having a decided influence, but your case is a particular one. Your knowlege of what is proper abroad, the confidence which all America has always manifested in you, the known confidence which the President must necessarily place in you in whatever relates to Europe and that supported by his personal attachment to you and reliance on you; in fine the manner in which you were forced into the office you now hold-all shew evidently that you must necessarily make such regulations as you please relative to the foreign establishment. In the instances where you do not judge proper to use your influence it may be otherwise, but it is impossible that any opinion should be adopted relative to foreign establishments in contradiction to yours. All these considerations induce me to hope that no great inconvenience will result from this interpretation of the lease. I spoke to Tolozan relative to the present and mentioned to him that you were prohibited by the constitution from accepting one from the King. He told me that in that case he would not accept any thing either. Sequeville gave me the same answer and in order to prove that the etiquette was such he gave me the whole history of his appointment and long services in the place he holds. The essential was that the present made by a foreign minister was a [584 }

29 JUNE 1790

consequence of the one made previously by the King. Baron Grimm and Blome had both told me that I should necessarily recieve this answer from Tolozan and Sequeville. The Chevalier Bourgoin arrived here some weeks ago in order to go to Madrid as Minister ad interim, the Duke de la Vauguyon being recalled. Bourgoin is still here and thinks he shall not proceed further on this business, I know not for what reason. He is the intimate friend of Carmichael, and told me he had just recieved a letter from him in which he tells him he would not remain longer at Madrid even if he should be appointed Minister, that he was determined to return to America and live in retirement &c. On my mentioning that Carmichael had written me he should resign if you did not accept the department of foreign affairs, and that I hoped he would continue under that circumstance at Madrid, he seemed fully of a contrary opinion, and observed that he was subject to the spleen and moments of disgust which rendered that place disagreeable to him. Still I do no[t] think myself that Carmichael has any intention of retiring, judging from the letter which he wrote me. The new English Ambassador has arrived here, but lodges as yet in an hotel garni. The Ambassadress was presented last sunday.-He is a young man about two and thirty. As to talents to judge from fame and a little conversation with him, moderate, as to experience, none. You know the force of Lord Robert.-I cannot help sometimes thinking with myself that if the interests of England may be entrusted to such young hands those against whom the greatest objection is youth and inexperience might hope to discharge the duties of an inferior place. But fate that decides these things reasons perhaps otherwise, and it is for mortals to submit without murmuring to its decrees. Your horses are not yet sold. Several offers have been made en fair, but when accepted were withdrawn. A person is to come and try them to-morrow who seems in earnest. If not they shall be sent to the market where they are sure of being sold but probably at a low price. Adieu my Dear Sir and believe me unalterably your friend, W: SHORT RC (DLC); at head of text: "Private"; endorsed as received 26 Sep. 1790 and so recorded in SIL. PrC (PHi).

[585 ]

From William Short Paris June the 29th. 1790

DEAR SIR

Since my last the King has sanctioned the decree which I then mentioned there were hopes he would reject at least a part of. It was well known that the assembly wished the veto to be used in that instance, as a little reflexion had shown them the inconvenience, not to say worse, of some parts of it. Mr. Necker and M. de Montmorin were for using the veto, but the Garde des sceaux opposed it and carried his point. The public and particularly the assembly are much displeased with him for it. They attribute to him very malignant motives for this conduct. As the 14th. of July approaches the apprehensions of disorder seem to increase. It is known to be the present intention of the Duke of Orleans to return. Every thing that can be done, is doing to prevent it. Those who fear most his return do not hesitate to say that he will be supported by English gold, and that he has himself made considerable loans. These opinions are given so publicly that no person has any scruple in repeating and commenting on them. Still many think that the Duke will not put his intentions of coming here into execution, and they found their opinion on his known unwillingness to undertake what is evidently dangerous.-In the mean time preparations are going on with the greatest activity in the champ de Mars. 13,000 workmen were employed there three days ago, and two thousand more were to be added yesterday. This assemblage from all quarters of the Kingdom and preparations for their reception will necessarily cost large sums of money, but this seems to be forgotten in the hopes and anxieties of the different parties. The first courier that Fitzherbert has sent since his arrival at Madrid passed through this place three or four days ago. The English Minister told me he supposed he had the answer of Spain on the subject of war, but that the despatches were not to be opened before his arrival in London, and that he did not know of what nature were the contents. The same courier brought the intelligence of Count de Florida Blanca having been attacked by an assassin in the palace and recieved two wounds, though not dangerous. His servants who were present siezed the assassin, who is found to be a Frenchman and a surgeon. On examination they found that he was a lunatic. It is not known what will be done with him. The colony of Nantucket fishermen formerly settled at Dunkirk

[586 J

SO JUNE 1790

and now at L'Orient, in petitioning the assembly for the payment of arrears due them, renewed the request of excluding all foreign fishermen. I learned that this affair was with the committee of commerce. I had an interview with the Rapporteur of that committee. They had been pleased with the idea of exclusion and had concieved they would thus augment their marine. The Nantucketers had assured them that by the aid of exclusion the national fisheries would suffice. I followed the road you had already traced on that subject because it was the only true one. The Rapporteur seemed convinced of the absurdity of the assembly becoming more exclusive in its system of commerce than the former ministry. He left me by telling me he was convinced it was for the advantage of France as well as of the United States to give every possible extension to this branch of commerce between the two countries and that he should impress that idea on the other members of the committee. He promised also to communicate his report to me, before he presented it to the assembly. I have the honor to assure you of the sentiments of respect & attachment with which I am, my dear sir, your most obedient W: SHORT humble servant, PrC (DLC: Short Papers); at head of text: "No.35." Tr (DNA: RG 59, DD). Recorded in SJL as received 26 Sep. 1790.

To David Rittenhouse New York June SO. 1790. DEAR SIR Your favor of the 25th. came to hand last night, for which I give you many thanks. The conversion of 36.71428 pouce[s] into 39.1923 inches was an error in division, and consequently the mean taken between that and Graham's computation is wrong. It has rendered it necessary for me to suppress the note on that subject, and to put it into the form now inclosed. In this I state the reaso[n] for adopting 11 po. 3.li. as the equivalent of the English foot. It is so stated by D'Alembert in the Encyclopedie, and retained in the new Encyclopedie. To have changed it for 11-3.11, Maskelyne's measure, would have obliged me to reform all my calculations anew which would have [expos]ed me to new errors of calculation, and added to the trouble and delay it wo[uld] have cccasioned, did not seem worth while for so small a fraction as /0\ of a line or the 1227th. of a foot. I suppose too that the operation concerti[ng] between the French and English will soon furnish us with a new and

[587 ]

1 JULY 1790

mor[e] perfect equation of their feet. I still like the rod rather than the pendulum because I do not know a single objection to it which does not [lie] against the pendulum, because it is clear of some objections to which that is liable, but most of all because ~ of the second rod is much nearer the present foot than ~ of the second pendulum. After all, should the French and English adopt the pendulum, we shall be free to do so also.-I state on the inclosed paper the very loose answer to the 5th. objection, which is the only one I am enabled to give. Can you suggest something more precise? As there is an [id]ea that Congress will rise about the middle of July, I shall only await the answer you will be so good as to make to this and then give in the report.-This day, I fancy, will determine whether we are to be removed to Philadelphia or not. For tho' it will still be to be put to the question several times before it's ultimate passage, yet I think, if this day's vote of the Senate is favorable, it will pass safely thro' all the [su]bsequent stages. It would have been a great comfort to [me] to have been near you during the preparation of this [bu]siness of weights and measures. It is much easier to avoid [e]rrors by having good information at first, than to unravel and correct them after they are committed. I recommend to Congress the deferring to proceed on the report till the next session, and reserve to myself an opening to add any new matter which may occur in the mean time.-I am with great & sincere esteem Dr. Sir Your affectionate friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON

P.S. The Senate have past the vote in favor of the residence at Philadelphia till the 1st. of January 1800. I believe now there will be no more changes. 2. oclock P.M. RC (Mies Elizabeth Sergeant Abbot, Philadelphia, 1954); margin of MS tom, parts affected supplied from PrC; addressed: "David Rittenhouse esquire Philadelphia"; franking signature cut out; postmarked: "[NEW-YOR]K .. june SO" and "FREE." PrC (DLC); lacks postscript, which was added on 1 July 1790 shortly after T J received from Samuel A. Otis a note of that date

reading: "Mr. Otis's respects to the Secretary of State and informs him the Bill has passed the Senate" (RC in DLC; not endorsed and not recorded in SJL-but covered with calculations by TJ for his report on weights and measures; see under 4 July 1790 for that report and Document VIT, note 15, for the 5TH OBJECTION.)

From Robert Leslie Philadelphia July 1st 1790 I was this day honourd with your favour of the 27th ult, in

SIR

[588 ]

1 JULY 1790

mor[e] perfect equation of their feet. I still like the rod rather than the pendulum because I do not know a single objection to it which does not [lie] against the pendulum, because it is clear of some objections to which that is liable, but most of all because ~ of the second rod is much nearer the present foot than ~ of the second pendulum. After all, should the French and English adopt the pendulum, we shall be free to do so also.-I state on the inclosed paper the very loose answer to the 5th. objection, which is the only one I am enabled to give. Can you suggest something more precise? As there is an [id]ea that Congress will rise about the middle of July, I shall only await the answer you will be so good as to make to this and then give in the report.-This day, I fancy, will determine whether we are to be removed to Philadelphia or not. For tho' it will still be to be put to the question several times before it's ultimate passage, yet I think, if this day's vote of the Senate is favorable, it will pass safely thro' all the [su]bsequent stages. It would have been a great comfort to [me] to have been near you during the preparation of this [bu]siness of weights and measures. It is much easier to avoid [e]rrors by having good information at first, than to unravel and correct them after they are committed. I recommend to Congress the deferring to proceed on the report till the next session, and reserve to myself an opening to add any new matter which may occur in the mean time.-I am with great & sincere esteem Dr. Sir Your affectionate friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON

P.S. The Senate have past the vote in favor of the residence at Philadelphia till the 1st. of January 1800. I believe now there will be no more changes. 2. oclock P.M. RC (Mies Elizabeth Sergeant Abbot, Philadelphia, 1954); margin of MS tom, parts affected supplied from PrC; addressed: "David Rittenhouse esquire Philadelphia"; franking signature cut out; postmarked: "[NEW-YOR]K .. june SO" and "FREE." PrC (DLC); lacks postscript, which was added on 1 July 1790 shortly after T J received from Samuel A. Otis a note of that date

reading: "Mr. Otis's respects to the Secretary of State and informs him the Bill has passed the Senate" (RC in DLC; not endorsed and not recorded in SJL-but covered with calculations by TJ for his report on weights and measures; see under 4 July 1790 for that report and Document VIT, note 15, for the 5TH OBJECTION.)

From Robert Leslie Philadelphia July 1st 1790 I was this day honourd with your favour of the 27th ult, in

SIR

[588 ]

1 JULY 1790 which you are pleased to express your satisfaction with respect to the vibrating rod, which I proposed as a standard of measure. I shall think myself still further honourd, and you have my hearty consent, that you report the same to Congress as the standard of measure for the U.S. I would just further beg leave to observe that since writing the piece you refer to I have been informed by Mr. Patterson Professor of Mathematics in the University here, to whome I mentioned the project, that in the vibrating rod, the center of oscillation is not strictly and Mathematically at % of the lenght of the rod from the end or point of suspension, that this is the case only on the supposition of the rod being a mere inflexible line. He however assures me, upon making the calculation that the error in any rod which would be used for this purpose would be totally insensible. A rod for instance of 40 inches long and 4 tenths of an inch in diameter would have the distance of its center of oscillation below % of the lenght of the rod only 2 0 ~ o. part of an inch, or 80~00. part of the whole lenght, a fraction scarcely within the power of a micrometer to measure, and may therefore be safely neglected. Any assistance which it may be in my power to render respecting the above scheme, or any other in which you may be pleased to employ me, you may be assured will be always at your Service. I have the honour to be Sir your most obedt. humble servt., ROBERT LESLIE A rod of 40 inches long and 2 tenths of an inch in diameter will have its center of oscilation below i of the lenght of the rod {8 010 0'" One of 4 tenths diameter { 2 010 0 one of 8 tenths diameter { 15100 ". This perhaps will be the variation of the rod which will be most convenient which is only 8 010 0 part of an inch. RC (ViWC); endorsed as received S July 1790 and so recorded in SJ"L. The postscript (also ViWC) is on a separate piece of paper, and is separated from the letter, but obviously was integral with it originally.

To William Short New York July 1. 1790. DEAR SIR A bill has past two readings in the Senate for removing the seat of government immediately to Philadelphia, there to remain ten years, and then to be established permanently in Georgetown. It is to receive it's third reading to-day, and tho' it depends on a single [589 }

2 JULY 1790

vote, yet I believe we may count surely that it will pass that house. As it originated there, it will then have to pass the lower house, where, however, I believe it is very secure of a majority. I apprehend this news must reach you too late to send my baggage to Philadelphia instead of this place: however, to take the chance of any unexpected delay which may have attended it's departure, I drop you this line by a vessel sailing this morning to Dunkirk, to pray you (if my baggage is not already embarked, or so engaged for it's passage as not to admit a change of destination) that you will have it sent to Philadelphia directly. The having to send it from one port to another in the U.S. costs as much nearly as the freight across the Atlantic, besides the custom house difficulties. I think it better to wait an opportunity from thence to Philadelphia, should there not be an immediate one, than that it should make a double voiage. No time to add any thing else, but that all is well. Adieu. Your's affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON RC (ViW); endorsed as received 6 Aug. 1790. Recorded in SIL as "private." PrC (DLC). On 8 July 1790 TJ wrote again to Short about the BILL: "It has not yet passed the lower house, but there remains not a doubt but that it will pass tomorrow or the next day. The object of that and this letter and others which I shall still send is to determine the sending my furniture to Philadelphia instead of New York if it be not too late. Besides the saving of ex:pence, it will

save a great deal of embarrasment at the custom houses. I had supposed the packet would not sail till the 12th. and am now suddenly informed she sails this afternoon. I have therefore not a moment to add more than assurances of the sincere attachment of Dr. Sir Your friend & servt., Th: Jefferson" (RC in ViW endorsed as received 31 Aug. 1790; PrC in DLC; in this TJ erroneously referred to the above letter as being dated "the 29th. June").

From Joseph Barnes Philada. July 2d. 1790

SIR

Notwithstanding all my assiduity since having Mr. Rumseys interest much at heart, and also being sensable of the evil consequences of delays by unprincipled men availing them selves of Mr. Rumseys inventions in those States in which there are no existing Laws in his favor, Yet having so many models to make of his several inventions, which from their different principles and construction necessarily require a number of different mechanicks imployed in executing them, all of whom require almost my constant Superintendency or they cannot go on, and as some part of my time has been unavoidably taken off by other necessary engagements have therefore as yet not got the models in such forwardness as [590 ]

2 JULY 1790 fully to authorize me to fix a period at which I can positively be in Newyork with them; But hope however a few days more will put them in such forwardness as will justify me in naming the time, when I shall do it with much pleasure. I am very respectfully sir your obedt. humbl. Servt., JOSEPH BARNES P.S. The last advices from Mr. Rumsey dated London April the 7th Last, informs he then had in possession the patent for his Mills &:c. and that he some time before had tried the operation of the engine on his Steam Vessel, when it made from eighteen to twenty Strokes per minute, the Boiler at the same time evaporating at the rate of fifty gallons of water per hour. But as he found some of the valves &:c. incomplete, did not mean to draw anchor until he had the whole perfect, with which he was then engaged. He further adds that he then had just began to erect a Mill in the vicinity of London, on his improvement of Dr. Barkers Mill. J. BARNES RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); endorsed as received 6 July 1790 and so recorded in SJL. Barnes had evidently called in New York early in June, bearing a letter from William Bingham to TJ, 28 May 1790, reading: "On application of many Members of the Rumseian Society, I have taken the liberty of addressing a Letter to you by Mr. Barnes, and of recommending him to your Attention, as a very ingenious Artist.-As Attorney to Mr. Rumsey, he has made Application for various Patents to entitle him, for a limited Period, to the exclusive Advantage of his Discoveries.-Mr. Barnes has been informed that a Person from New England has Sued for a Patent for a Boiler (to generate Stearn) of the Same Construction with that of Mr. Rumsey, and to which the latter has an undoubted Right, from Priority of Invention. He therefore intends to enter a Caveat against granting a Patent to this Claimant, in order to have a hearing, for the purpose of determining the Right" (RC in DNA: RG 59, MLR; endorsed as received 2 June 1790 and so

recorded in SJL). See TJ to Vaughan, 27 June 1790. On 23 July 1790 Barnes wrote TJ that an engagement ''to take a tour in the Country on indispensable business from whence casualties renders uncertain" his return, he would have to postpone his trip to New York still further, adding: "Having read with much pleasure the late Act of Congress which authorizes that August body to adjourn to meet next at this City • • • I therefore beg Leave to suggest, that, should Congress shortly adjourn, and the Board for granting Letters patent think expedient soon after to remove, to this City, whether there would be a propriety in bringing forward the models of Mr. Rumseys inventions, as in that case it would occasion unnecessary expense, as well to the public, as my self. Should an early removal however be the case, shall be extremely obliged if Mr. Jefferson will please direct his clark to give me the earliest advice thereof.•.. Nothing since from Mr. Rumsey" (RC in DNA: RG 59, MLR; endorsed as received 27 July 1790 and so recorded in SJL).

From Alexander Donald My DEAR SIR Richmond 2d. July 1790. I did myself the pleasure of writing you two Posts ago, but in closing up my letter I neglected putting into it the receipt for your [ 591 ]

2 JULY 1790

Cask of hams, which was delivered me by the Skipper of the Vessel by which I forwarded it to Norfolk. The Truth of the matter is, that I had some Friends dining with me that day, and we made rather too free with the Juice of the Grape. A Gentleman called here two days ago and delivered me a letter for Colo. Nicholas Lewis, by the direction I could not be at a loss to know that it came from you. I expect your Albemarle Post down this day or tomorrow, by whom it shall be forwarded. As the Post is not regular, I shall forward it in a few days by some Gentleman going to Albe. Court which is next Thursday, provided the Post does not come down this week. I wish to recommend to you a very deserving young Gentleman; a Son of Carter Braxton's, who is at this time surveyor of the Port of Richmond, an office much beneath his notice or acceptance, whether we consider his own merits, his Connexions or what he receives from his appointment. I can assure you with truth that he is sensible, modest, and Industrious, and would fill with great Credit the office of Consul to any Country in Europe or the West Indies. This last I think he would prefer. For being really clever he would probably have much business to do in the Consignment Line. If you can do any thing for this young Gentleman, It will oblige me, and hereafter I am confident I would have your thanks for recommending him to you. I have another Friend to mention to you, but I will not presume to say so much in his favour. Seeing that Consuls are appointed for the Ports of Liverpool and Cowes, I would think it the most honourable feather in my Cap, could I obtain the same appointment for the Port of London. The Emolument of office is no object to me, but the Office itself I would always consider as a very flattering proof of the good opinion my Fellow Citizens have of me. My intention is never to deceive, and altho I have been a Citizen of America for five years past, and I flatter myself a pretty usefull one, Yet before I leave the State I intend to relinquish my Citizenship, as it will be attended with very considerable inconveniences and disadvantages to me in my business there, if I do not. This I presume will not be any obstacle to the appointment I have mentioned, but least it should, I think it very proper that I mention it. As to the management of the business of the Office, I may probably be capable of that, my long residence in America gives me reason to think so. I do not wish My Dear Sir that you should move in this business if any other Person [592 ]

2 JULY 1790

has applied that is more capable, or one to whom the emoluments of office would be an object. I beg leave to trouble you with Capt. Butlers affidavit, and with some corroberating depositions. From them I am confident you will acquit Mr. Brown for having sworn to Butler being a Citizen, altho perhaps he may not have in every respect complied with the Strict letter of the Law.-I am told that Colo. Heth is satisfied himself, but he says that it will be more honourable for Mr. Brown to have the matter fully tried, as he says that no Jury in the World can find him guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury. That I always knew, but only consider my Dear Sir, what a horrid thing it would be to haul a man of as fair a Character as any Gentleman in this State, to the Bar of a Court of Justice, and there to be arraigned for Felony, and that of such a nature as Perjury. It is clear and evident that Mr. Brown, as well as myself, had every reason to believe Capt. Butler a Citizen, and it is equally so that he was considered so by the State of Maryland, or his name never would have been mentioned as an owner of an American Ship. By the way Sir, I wish that part of the Law was altered, which requires the Owner of an American Vessel to swear to the Citizenship of the Master. Would it not be better for the master to swear for hims~lf, as in all other Countries that I have heard of. I hope that the Secretary to the Treasury has more liberality than to proceed any further in this business against Mr. Brown, which I shall ever think originated in envy or malice.-I have the greatest reason to depend on your Friendly offices. We are about half done with our wheat harvest, which is abundant, and I believe of good quality. Some few People complain of the Rust, but this Complaint is very partial, and confined to People who were too late of sowing. Your Son in Law called upon me two days ago, and inquired when I had heard from you, for that he had not received a letter from you for a long time past. I put your last letter into his hands. I have the pleasure to inform you that both Mr. and Mrs. Randolph are well. I expect to sail in ten days. I will be most happy to hear from you by the August Packet, as I shall have left this before I can have the pleasure of hearing from you in answer to the present. I flatter myself that the distance will not occasion any interuption to our Correspondence. Indeed I know you too well, to have any anxiety on this head. I most fervently Pray to God to bless you, [593 ]

2 JULY 1790

and that you may ever be happy here and hereafter, is the sincere wish of Dear Sir Your Faithful & obt. St., A. DONALD Please observe that the Papers now sent you are originals, and that no notarial Copies of them are taken. Therefore if the prosecution is to go on, I must beg the favour of your returning them, as it will save much trouble. Mr. Brown tells me that Mr. Heth has suggested to the Secretary of the Treasury, that he had started his Doubts to Mr. Brown of Butler's being a Citizen But on the other hand Mr. Brown declares to me that no such thing was ever mentioned till after he had taken out the Register for the ship. Mr. Brown is a man of veracity, and if he is not mistaken in what he says, I leave you to form your own opinion of Mr. Heth's conduct. I think I can take upon myself to say that if he had insinuated a suspicion of this nature to Mr. Brown, before he swore to Butler's Citizenship, that he would not have done it, untill he had the matter put out of dispute. I take the liberty of sending you the Copy of a small account of yours with Messrs. Wm. & Jas. Donald & Co. A son of the Former's has arrived lately, with ample powers to settle the business of that concern. At your leisure be so good as write Mr. Andw. Donald about it, under cover to Mr. James Brown, whom I recommend to you as a person able and willing to serve you in this State, as much, or more than any other. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 10 July, but recorded in July 1790.

SIL

as received 11

From David Rittenhouse Philadelphia July 2d. 1790

DR SIR

I should not have troubled you with my Algebraical Calculations but for your present inconvenient situation. I am however pleased to find your results, tho' obtained a different way, the same with mine, having never that I remember turned to any Book on the Subject.The rod used as a Pendulum does indeed require no correction, if it be no thicker than you propose, which will perhaps have weight sufficient. I see nothing to Object to, in the four pages last received, except what I mentioned in my former letter, that you reduce 36.71428 French inches in 39.1923 English. Ferguson states the French foot [594 ]

2 JULY 1790 equal to 12.788 inches English, that is 1/1000 part of an Inch less than Maskelines proportion, which I think most worthy of Credit. Therefore 36.71428 French inches cannot be more than 39.12824 English measure. On the 5th. Article, "The practical difficulty resulting from the effect of the Machinery and moving power," You have left a blank as if intending to say more. This is a subject which I have fully considered for several years past, and have written something on it which I intend to print. I have therein demonstrated that the force of the moving power may, at pleasure, be so applied to the pendulum as to make it vibrate either quicker or slower, in equal arches, than it would do in a Vacuum, at perfect liberty. And consequently that it may be so applied that it shall not change the times of Vibration at all. The Errors arising from unequal Arches of Vibration I have likewise proposed to remove with Geometrical accuracy, without using the Cycloid, and there is now going a Time Piece in our University so constructed. The different elevations above the Surface of the Ocean, where the Experiments may be made, will scarcely merit Consideration. Let A, B, D be the general Surface of the Earth, and its Semidiameter [40]00 Miles. Let A. E. B. be an Elevated tract of Country [embraced?] by a Sphere passing thro' the Center of the Earth, and [whose gr]eatest Elevation F. E. is 2. miles. Then will its Diameter A B be 246 miles, and a pendulum at E must be 1/4000 part longer than at AorB. Some years ago I endeavored to determine the probable lenghth of a Degree of Longitude in any given Latitude, from the 9 Measures of different Degrees of Latitude given by Maskeline in the Transactions. I thought the fairest way would be to assume such a Magnitude for the Earth, and such a proportion between its Axis and Equatorial Diameter, as would make the Supposed Errors of Measurement the least possible, and likewise divide them equally between Excess and Defect. This I found will happen if a degree of Longitude at the Equator be 57169 French Toises and the polar to the Equatorial Diameter as 271;.2 to 272Ys!. For then, [595 J

S JULY 1790 Lenghth of a degree in F. Toises A

At the Equator Latitude 33. 0 18' 39. 12 43. 0 44. 44 45. 0 47. 40 49. 23 66. 20

Calculated

Measured'

56750.00 56938.57 57000.09 57041.40 57060.38 57063.33 57092.60 57111.33 57277.30

56750 57037 56888 56979 57069 57028 57091 57074 57419

Sum of Errors

Errors of Measurement + 0.00 + 98.43 -112.09 62.40 + 8.62 35.33 1.60 37.33 +141.70

+248.75}Least -248.75 possible, if the figure of the Earth be a regular Spheroid

I was Surprized to find that I cou'd not assign any portion of the Errors to the Equator Measurement, without encreasing the Sum of all the Errors. All this I mention to Shew the uncertainty we are in respecting the figure of the Earth, and consequently the lenghth of Pendulums in different Latitudes. You will please to let me know if I am to return all the papers you have transmitted to me. I am, Dr Sir, with great respect, Your affectionate friend & Servant, DAVD. RITTENHOUSE

Since writing the above I have received your favour of the 30th. but see no Occasion to add any thing, except that I am sincerely glad at the prospect of having You here the next Session of Congress. RC (DLC); endorsed as received 6 July 1790 and

80

recorded in

S.JL.

From James Monroe DEAR SIR Richmond July S. 1790. Your favor of the 20th. of June I have received and am happy to hear of your restoration to health. Mrs. Monroe and family are in Albemarle whither I sit out in a day or two. They are well.-The assumption of the state debts is disliked here, and will create great disgust if adopted under any shape whatever. The minds of all are made [596 ]

3 JULY 1790

up on it, and I doubt whether even the immediate removal to the Potowmk. would reconcile them to it. I merely mention this as a fact which I consider as well establish'd, without entering at present into its merits, further than to observe, that I am of opinion it is in every point of view impolitick; that its advocates have put the publick name and interests in jeopardy, and that it will be hard if they will still press forward and sacrifice these important considerations, if we do not yield upon terms which are improper. It is however much to be wish'd a revenue bill could pass satisfactory to all parties. For this is certainly essential to the publick welfare. We still hope for the establishment of the seat of government on the Potowk., if a permanent one is fix'd on. Tho' I must confess I consider a vote to that purpose at present to take effect hereafter as of but little importance. I observe a bill has pass'd for settling the claims of Individual States with the US. and that under it 2. Commissioners are to be appointed. Virga. would surely have a member at that board. If so Mr. Daw[son] of the Council would be happy in obtaining it. I have known him for sometime past and really think him well qualified for it. He is a young man of sound judgment, parts and attention to business, and am persuaded in the discharge of that trust, would merit the approbation of the government. An impression perhaps took place some years since, on his first commencement, that he was somewhat dissipated. If this was even at that time well founded, yet be assur'd it has been since done away. He has been lately appointed to Congress and the Council and in my opinion possess'd of the publick confidence. As I think him fit for the station and really wish him well, and on that account as well as from a desire to avail the publick of his services, am anxious for his promotion. For this purpose I have taken the liberty to mention him to you, that so far as you concur with me in an opinion of his merit, he may be avail'd of your aid. I shall write you from Albemarle upon a presumption you have your cypher on a subject somewhat interesting to myself. With the best wishes for your welfare I am yr. affectionate friend & servant, JAS. MONROE RC (DLC); endorsed as received 13 July 1790 and so recorded in

[597 }

SJL.

To Francis Eppes DEAR

New York July 4. 1790.

SIR

The business of Congress has proceeded very slowly lately. Two interesting questions have so chafed the members that they can scarcely go on with one another. One of these is happily getting over. The Senate has passed the bill for transferring the temporary residence of Congress to Philadelphia for 10. years and the permanent one to Georgetown thenceforward. The other question relative to the assumption of the state debts is still undecided. In the form in which it has been proposed, it can never be admitted. But neither can the proposition be totally rejected without preventing the funding the public debt altogether which would be tantamount to a dissolution of the government. I am in hopes it will be put into a just form, by assuming to the creditors of each state in proportion to the census of each state, so that the state will be exonerated towards it's creditors just as much as it will have to contribute to the assumption, and consequently no injustice done. The only objection then would be that the states could more conveniently levy taxes themselves to pay these debts. I am clearly of this opinion, but I see the necessity of sacrificing our opinions sometimes to the opinions of others for the sake of harmony. There is some prospect of a war between Spain and England. Should this [take place] France will certainly be involved in it, and it will be as general a war as has ever been seen in Europe: consequently it will be long patching up a peace which may adjust so many interests. In the mean time I hope peace [and] profit will be our lot. I think there is every prospect of a good price for our produce, and particularly our wheat for years to come.-The revolution in France goes on with a slow but steady step. Their West India islands are all in combustion. There is no government in them, consequently their trade entirely open to us. I shall come to Virginia in September, most probably early in the month tho' I had rather make it a little later if the time to be fixed by the President for removal to Philadelphia will admit it. For I take it for granted the bill will pass the H. of representatives where it has been read once or twice, and will be finally decided on the day after tomorrow. Present me most affectionately to Mrs. Eppes and the family. I am my dear sir Your affectionate friend & servt., TH: JEFFERSON RC (DLC); MS slightly torn, affected words being supplied from PrC (DLC).

[ 598 }

To Mary Jefferson New York July 4. 1790.

I have written you, my dear Maria, four letters since I have been here, and I have received from you only two. You owe me two then, and the present will make three. This is a kind of debt I will not give up. You may ask how I will help myself? By petitioning your aunt, as soon as you receive a letter to make you go without your dinner till you have answered it. How goes on the Spanish? How many chickens have you raised this summer? Send me a list of the books I have promised you at different times, tell me what sort of weather you have had, what sort of crops are likely to be made, how your uncle and aunt, and the family do, and how you do yourself. I shall see you in September for a short time. Adieu, my dear Poll. Yours affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON HC (VtMC).

To Nicholas Lewis New York July 4. 1790.

DEAR SIR

I wrote you last on the 13th. of June. The Senate have passed the bill for fixing the residence of Congress at Philadelphia for ten years, and then permanently at Georgetown. It has been read once or twice in the H. of representatives and will be ultimately decided on the day after tomorrow. I believe it will pass there by a considerable majority. I imagine we shall remove from hence early in September, which will consequently be the time for my paying a short visit to Monticello. There is reason to expect a rupture has taken place between Spain and England. If so, it will involve France and so render the present war of Europe almost universal there. I hope they will see it their interest to let us make bread for them in peace, and to give us a good price for it. We have every moral certainty that wheat will be high for years to come. I cannot therefore, my dear Sir, omit to press, for myself, the going into that culture as much as you think practicable. In Albemarle I presume we may lay aside tobacco entirely; and in Bedford the more we can lay it aside, the happier I shall be. I believe it cannot there be entirely discontinued, for want of open lands. I will also be obliged to you to give such orders for preparing for the next year's crop in the plantation given to Mr. Randolph, as you would [599 J

4 JULY

1790

for me, were it to remain in my hands. I know he will be glad to have as much wheat sowed as possible. While good crops of grain and a good price for them will prepare a good income, if we can avoid paying that away to the stores, all will be well. For this purpose it is vastly desire able to be getting under way with our domestic cultivation and manufacture of hemp, flax, cotton and wool for the negroes. If we may decide from past experience we may safely say that war and domestic manufacture are more gainful than peace and store supplies. The present price of wheat here is a dollar a bushel. Present my best esteem to Mrs. Lewis and your family. I am Dear Sir Your affectionate friend &: humble servt., TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC).

To Edward Rutledge My DEAR SIR New York July 4. 1790. Your favor of Apr. 28. came to hand May 11. and found me under a severe indisposition which kept me from all business more than a month, and still permits me to apply but very sparingly. That of June 20. was delivered me two days ago by young Mr. Middleton whom I was very glad to see, as I am every body and every thing which comes from you. It will give me great pleasure to be of any use to him on his father's account as well as your's. In Your's of Apr. 28. you mention Dr. Turnbull's opinion that force alone can do our business with the Algerines. I am glad to have the concurrence of so good an authority on that point. I am clear myself that nothing but a perpetual cruize against them, or at least for 8. months of the year and for several years, can put an end to their piracies: and I believe that a confederacy of the nations not in treaty with them can be effected so as to make that perpetual cruize, or our share of it, a very light thing, as soon as we shall have money to answer even a light thing: and I am in hopes this may shortly be the case.-I participate fully of your indignation at the trammels imposed on our commerce with Great Britain. Some attempts have been made in Congress, and others are still making to meet their restrictions by effectual restriction on our part. It was proposed to double the foreign tonnage for a certain time and after that to prohibit the exportation of our commodities in the vess~ls of nations not in treaty with us. This has been rejected. It is now proposed to prohibit any nation from bringing or carrying in their vessels what may not be brought or carried in ours from [600 ]

4 JULY 1790

or to the same ports: also to prohibit those from bringing to us any thing not of their own produce, who prohibit us from carrying to them any thing but our own produce. It is thought however that this cannot be carried. The fear is that it would irritate Great Britain were we to feel any irritation ourselves. You will see by the debates of Congress that there are good men and bold men, and sensible men, who publicly avow these sentiments.-Your observations on the expediency of making short treaties are most sound. Our situation is too changing, and too improving, to render an unchangeable treaty expedient for us. But what are these enquiries in the part of the British minister which lead you to think he means to treat? May they not look to some other object? I suspect they do: and can no otherwise reconcile all circumstances. I would thank you for a communication of any facts on this subject. Some questions have lately agitated the mind of Congress more than the friends of union on catholic principles would have wished. The general assumption of state debts has been as warmly demanded by some states, as warmly rejected by others. I hope still that this question may be so divested Qf the injustice imputed to it as to be compromised. The question of residence you know was always a heating one. A bill has past the Senate for fixing this at Philadelphia ten years, and then at Georgetown: and it is rather probable it will pass the lower house. That question then will be put to sleep for ten years; and this and the funding business being once out of the way, I hope nothing else may be able to call up local principles. If the war between Spain and England takes place, I think France will inevitably be involved in it. In that case I hope the new world will fatten on the follies of the old. If we can but establish the principles of the armed neutrality for ourselves, we must become the carriers for all parties as far as we can raise vessels. The President had a hair breadth escape: but he is now perfectly reestablished, and looks much better than before he was sick.I expect daily to see your nephew, Mr. J. Rutledge, arrive here, as he wrote me by the May packet that he would come in that of June. He is a very hopeful young man, sensible, well-informed, prudent, and cool. Our Southern sun has been accused of sometimes sublimating the temper too highly. I wish all could think as coolly, but as soundly and firmly too as you do. Adieu my dear friend. Your's affectionately, TH: JEFFERSON PrC (DLC). On TJ's own plan of a the Algerines, see Vol. 10: 560-70.

CONFEDERACY OF THE NATIONS

[601 ]

against

Report on Weights and Measures I. TENCH COXE TO JOHN JAY, 25 JAN. 1790 II. WILLIAM WARING'S PLAN FOR WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, 30 JAN. 1790 III. THOMAS JEFFERSON TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 4 JULY 1790 IV. FIRST STATE OF THE REPORT ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, APRIL 1790 V. SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, APRIL-20 MAY 1790 VI. JAMES MADISON'S QUERIES CONCERNING THE REPORT, CA. 20 MAY 1790 VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, 4 JULY 1790 VIII. THOMAS JEFFERSON TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, 17 JAN. 1791 IX. POSTSCRIPT TO THE REPORT ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, 10 JAN. 1791

EDITORIAL

NOTE

Jefferson's report on weights and measures is an almost perfect embodiment of his dual allegiance to Newtonian physics and to Lockean concepts of government. The idea of using the pendulum as an invariable and universal standard came straight from Newton's Principia, and the aim of constructing a system of weights and measures "bringing the principal affairs of life within the arithmetic of every man who can multiply and divide plain numbers" was fully in accord with both reason and the rights of man. In a climate in which thoughtful men in France, England, and America simultaneously resorted to the same sources, it is not surprising that the effort at reform was often identified with national pride. "The adoption of an invariable unite of measure and weight is an object much to be wished for," wrote a professor of mathematics at Columbia College, "of which I hope America will set an example to the world, and I make no doubt but in this age of reformation it will be generally followed."l In 1785 James Madison anticipated Jefferson by urging that, in the regulation of weights and measures, it would be "highly expedient, as well as honorable to the federal administration, to pursue the hint which had been suggested by ingenious 1 Kemp to TJ, 28 June 1790; Robert Patterson, professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, thought that the people of the United States had ''in many instances of much greater magnitude, broken oft' the shackles of former prejudice, and dared to think and act for themselves" to such an extent that he proposed a new "American stiie" calendar; Patterson to TJ, 18 Dec. 1790.

[602 }

EDITORIAL NOTE and philosophical men, to wit: that the standard of measure should be first fixed by the length of a pendulum vibrating seconds at the Equator or any given latitude .... Such a scheme appears to be easily reducible to practice; and as it is founded on the division of time, which is the same at all times and in all places, and proceeds on other data which are equally so, it would not only secure a perpetual uniformity throughout the United States, but might lead to universal standards in these matters among nations. Next to the inconvenience of speaking different languages, is that of using different and arbitrary weights and measures."2 The language of science was inexorably committed to universality, but in this age of reformation the spirit of nationalism could impede as well as support rational plans. Some feared that the opportunity might be lost by the United States. "This great desideratum in commerce and in social life ... will probably be at length attained," declared a writer in the New York Daily Advertiser, "and England, in conjunction with France, will perhaps have the honor of conferring this benefit on the rest of Europe."S But many others hoped that the example would be set by the United States. Long before Jefferson arrived in New York, advocates of both uniformity and decimalization of weights and measures were proposing thoughtful and inventive reforms. Of these perhaps the best known was that set forth in newspaper articles by John Beale Bordley and later issued in pamphlet form under the title On monies, coins, weights, and measures proposed for the United States of America. 4 Bordley called for an abandonment of the "inconvenient fractions that accident seems to have produced, and habits have continued among the old nations: but which America is in the finest situation to avoid, and to give a preference to the more simple and harmonious division in tens." He suggested a merging of the avoirdupois and troy systems in one series of which the "American pound" would be the unit. Beginning with the prime of 70 grains, the ounce of 700, and the pound of 7000, his system of weight was intended to comprehend fine substances such as gold as well as gross commodities such as tobacco and wheat. Like others, Bordley noted the wide approval given to the adoption of a coinage based on decimal reckoning and hoped that the example would be extended to weights and measures. "Any person who can read sums in figures, can change the higher weights into lower," he pointed out, "or lower into higher, by the use of dots, applied or withdrawn." And again: "The Congress division of monies being in an exact decimal method ... is the quickest, most certain, and easy way of reduction, both for the learned and unlearned. . . . It is the most natural and harmonious division ever discovered." The "Divisions of Money adopted 2 Madison to Monroe, 28 Apr. 1785, Letters and other writings of James Madison (Philadelphia, 1865), I, 152-3. 3 Daily Advertiser, 14 July 1790, containing an English translation of the proposals of Talleyrand-Perigord, Bishop of Autun. 4 Bordley's articles, signed "B.," appeared in Gazette of the United States, 4 July and 19 Aug. 1789. The pamphlet was printed in Philadelphia in 1789 by Daniel Humphreys, who also issued A supplement to the essay on moneys, Stc. in 1790.

[603 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 by the late Congress ... far exceed every thing of the kind elsewhere in the World," echoed a Philadelphia Quaker, William Waring, in introducing his own system, "... and if a similar Plan were to take Place for Weights and measures, deduced from a permanent Standard ... it would, I conceive, add much to the Reputation, Convenience and Advantage of our rising Country."5 It is not surprising that an experimental age searching for natural and harmonious solutions to the problems of money and measures should have been prolific and even at times bizarre in inventiveness. A "Gentleman of Virginia," in an able analysis of the difficulties involved in establishing a money of account, argued for a unit "purely imaginary, for every thing, which is real, is exposed to the danger of fluctuation," gold and silver being improper as a common standard because they not only fluctuated in value but did so relative to each other.6 Fanciful attempts at nomenclature also marred otherwise sensible schemes. One writer who embraced both the second's pendulum as a standard of measure and the decimal system of reckoning suggested that the unit of measure should be called the "Pend ... or Federal Ell" and applied to its divisions and multiples such terms as decus, catens, trimins, bidecus, tridecus, manus, seems, and so on. T But the very flights of fancy reflected the importance which thoughtful men attached to the abstruse subject that affected most of the ordinary transactions of life, and when Washington lent the influence of his name and position to the recommendation that Congress attend to the standardization of weights and measures, another powerful stimulus was given to inventiveness both at home and abroad. 8 Such was the prevailing climate when Jefferson arrived in New York and there discovered that the task of drafting "a proper plan or plans for establishing uniformity in the Currency, Weights, and Measures of the United States" was an official duty that the house of representatives had placed upon the secretary of state. 9 In the mass of accumulated work in the departmental office was a letter from Tench Coxe de5 See Document n in the present series. TJ many years later said that on the question of decimalization "I believe there has been no difference of opinion" (TJ to Robert Patterson, 10 Nov. 1811). It Gazette of the United States, 21 and 24 Oct. 1789; the author stated that he had relied on the calculations of Sir James Steuart. Steuart's Plan for introducing an uniformity of weights and measures within the limits of the British Empire advocated a decimal system and was posthumously published in 1790. T William Waring, Document n in the present series. S Washington, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, xxx, 493. Document n in the present series may have been transmitted to Washington in consequence of the recommendation in his annual message of 8 Jan. 1790; this was true of the treatise on weights and measures addressed "Monseigneur de Vashington President du Congress des Etats unis d'Amerique" and compiled by a French lawyer, one Collignon, 15 Mch. 1790. It was sent to TJ by Lear on 23 June 1790, but TJ took no notice of it; Collignon's letter and MS, with an English translation of the former in Humphreys' hand, are in DNA: RG 59, MLR. George Skene Keith of Scotland also sent Washington a "Synopsis of a System of Equalization of Weights and Measures" early in 1792; see Rittenhouse to TJ, 11 June 1792, note. 9 Resolution in clerk's hand, 15 Jan. 1790, signed by John Beckley; DNA: RG 59, MLR; J"HR, I, 141.

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EDITORIAL NOTE scribing a plan proposed by Robert Leslie of Philadelphia, a watchmaker whom Jefferson soon came to respect as "the most ingenious workman in America."lO The manuscript itself, significantly, was transmitted to him through James Madison. It was preserved in the Library of Congress at least until 1849, but has subsequently disappeared from view. We know, however, that the paper was one that compelled Jefferson's admiration and that its central idea was that set forth in Coxe's letter: Jefferson afterward spoke of Leslie as the one ''to whom we are indebted for the idea of the rod-pendulum as a unit of measure."l1 It is not known when or by what means the plan of William Waring came to his attention. A copy of Bordley's pamphlet was in his possession, but he may have acquired it after he had drafted his own report to congress. 12 His library also contained John Whitehurst's An attempt toward obtaining invariable measures of length, capacity, and weight, from the mensuration of time, independent of the mechanical operations requisite to ascertain the center of oscillation, or the true length of pendulums, published in London in 1787. But, unhappily, when Jefferson left Monticello he separated himself from whatever pertinent works he might have had at that time, including all of the valuable papers that had been thrown together six years earlier in compiling his own Notes on the Establishment of a money unit. 13 He; was therefore obliged to tackle the question anew and in a city where, to his astonishment, there were so few books to be consulted. 14 Worse, as he explained many years afterward, ''the report was composed under a severe attack of periodical head ach which came on every day at Sunrise, and never See Document I in the present series. Sowerby, IV, 49. TJ to Short, 1 Sep. 1791. 12 Sowerby, No. 3758. 13 See Vol. 7: 150-202; Sowerby, No. 1214; TJ to Rittenhouse, 12 June 1790. 14 TJ to Rittenhouse, 20 June 1790. The paucity of books in New York caused congress to revive an earlier plan for a library selected for legislative and executive needs. Gerry reported on 23 June 1790 for a committee appointed for the purpose that they had compiled a catalogue of books needed "and not often found in .privnte or in circulating libraries" and that "without farther provision of books on laws and government, to which reference is often necessary, members of the legislature and other officers of government may be either deprived of the use of such books, when necessary, or be obliged at every session, to transport to the seat of the general government a considerable part of their libraries: it lIeldom happening that they can otherwise command such books when requisite without trespassing too much on the indulgence of their friends." The committee recommended the expenditure of $1,000 during the session and an annual expendiiure of $500 thereafter. It also recommended that the selections, without being confined to the catalogue prepared, should be made by the vice-president, the chief justice, and the secretary of state. The categories of books suggested (not listed by title) included laws of the states, laws "relating to the trade and navigation of the several nations of Europe with whom the United States may have treaties," a collection of works on parliamentary procedure, and so on. The nature of the report, its timing, the inclusion of books on trade and parliamentary procedure, and TJ's desperate need of books on standards of weights and measures-to say nothing of Madison's desire for infonnation on trade at the very time this report was made (see under 18 June 1790)-would make it very surprising indeed if the two men had not had a hand in this proposal and in compiling the list in 1790 as they had done in 1782 (Vol. 6: 216; report is in Daily Advertiser, 24 June 1790, but not in Annals). The action met with ridicule and satire in the press, and nothing resulted (New-York Journal, 18 June 1790). 10

11

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WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 left me till sunset. What had been ruminated in the day under a paroxysm of the most excruciating pain was committed to paper by candlelight, and then the calculations were made. "15 That unusually severe attack began with unusual severity on 1 May 1790 and continued for a longer period than customary: it was mid-June before he was free of the recurrent spells. There is no doubt that the illness was more than ordinarily disabling, and it is a testimony to Jefferson's conscientious performance of duty and to his sense of the importance of the subject that he was able to carry forward any of the necessary calculations under such blinding pain. Yet, out of the extraordinarily complex series of manuscripts that he produced in this interval, some of them with layers on layers of accretions and one particular segment going through several "editions" as he called them, we are able now to trace the development of the report in such a way as to modify somewhat the emphasis that later recollections caused him to give to the illness. It is plain that the essential nature of the report was determined and many of the necessary calculations made before the onset of the headache. Indeed, a dated scrap of paper shows that within a week of his arrival in New York Jefferson was considering the use of the second's pendulum in a comprehensive system so as to make "the Dollar, the ounce, and the inch . . . the center of money, weights, and measures."16 The first developed form of the report was undoubtedly drawn up in April, and, while the explanatory arguments were not included at that stage of development, the calculations had already been made for a balanced and integrated system based on decimal reckoning and compared with existing weights and measures. For this Jefferson adopted Leslie's idea of the vibrating rod in place of the pendulum and chose as the standard of measure, as being conveniently adapted to the existing system, ''the Double length of a rod or Treble length of a Pendulum vibrating seconds." The standard was based on Newton's calculation of the length of the second's pendulum in the latitude of London, though such was the paucity of books in New York that Jefferson was obliged to rely on memory for the length of 39.2 inches and to leave blank the calculation of latitude (51 31' according to Newton). Yet before this first stage of the report had been completed, Jefferson had decided upon the latitude of 38 for estimating the length of the rod. The cubic inch of pure water would be the standard of weight for the dollar, and it is possible that the query as to whether the arbitrary amount of alloy in the money unit might not be "so fixed as to offer an easy means of trying the purity of the coin" was a query intended for the secretary 0

0

15 TJ to Thomas Cooper, 27 Oct. 1808. In his letters to Mary Jefferson, 23 May and 13 June 1790, TJ called it a very moderate attack, but he had only been able to do business for the ten days preceding the date of the second letter; the first week in May was evidently the most violent period of the illness (TJ to Carr, 13 June 1790). TJ was with Washington on a three-day fishing trip off Sandy Hook from 7·9 June; the weather was ''remarkably fine"; there was "excellent sport"; and the president-presumably TJ also-"himself caught a great number of sea·bass and black·fish" (Gazette of the United States, 12 June 1790; TJ to Short, 6 June 1790). 16 Document IV, note on MS 1.

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EDITORIAL NOTE of the treasury, to whom the task of formulating a plan for a mint had been delegated. 17 But it is more likely that, at this stage, the query was intended for Madison, who now emerges as Jefferson's principal collaborator on the report. This is not surprising, for both men had long regarded a uniform, stable system of weights and measures as one of the obvious means of strengthening the national bonds: Jefferson in 1784 had hoped to extend the decimalization of money to weights and measures, and Madison the following year had urged that Congress establish a uniform system. It is now clear that Madison was consulted in the very beginning of the preparations for the report in April, that it was he who transmitted Leslie's manuscript and borrowed Whitehurst's treatise for Jefferson, and that it was not until the plan had reached an advanced state of development that Jefferson turned to his "mathematical friends" for advice and criticism. 1s It was to be expected that David Rittenhouse, for whom Jefferson had an exalted opinion, would be called upon, but it is now apparent that he also submitted his plan to William Samuel Johnson, president of Columbia College, and to John Kemp, professor of mathematics there. But even Rittenhouse was not consulted until the plan was fully matured in all of its essentials. In his letter to the speaker of the house of representatives Jefferson stated that the report was completed on 20 May 1790 and was then held in suspense in order to "lessen a number of it's imperfections." What Jefferson referred to here was the completion of the report in its second stage of development, wherein the alternative plans and their exposition were fully set forth.19 But it was over three weeks after this, when the plan was approaching its final form, that Jefferson finally appealed to Rittenhouse. "It would have been a great comfort to me to have been near you during the preparation of this business of weights and measures," Jefferson assured his old friend. "It is much easier to avoid errors by having good information at first, than to unravel and correct them after they are committed. "20 The sincerity of the expression cannot be doubted in the light of Jefferson's extremely high opinion of the mathematician, yet it was equally characteristic of his habits of business to address himself directly to the task at hand, to master its essentials, and to form his own ideas before consulting those whom he called ''the artists." What he asked of Rittenhouse and others was confirmation and correction, not preparation of a draft plan. This is most clearly illustrated in the fact that on two essential points in his plan Jefferson felt obliged to oppose his own judgment to Rittenhouse's opinion. The first was that the mathematician was not wholly pleased with the decision to adopt Leslie's plan of the vibrating rod, preferring instead the double pendulum as advocated in John Whitehurst's treatise. The second was Rittenhouse's insistence on 11 pouces 3.11 lignes as the See TJ to Hamilton, 12 June 1790. TJ to Leslie, 27 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 12 June 1790. 19 For evidence of TJ's consultation of William Samuel Johnson, see Document VIT, note on MS 2; Kemp to TJ, 28 June 1790. 20 TJ to Rittenhouse, SO June 1790. 17

18

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WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 French equivalent of the English foot, whereas Jefferson had chosen 11 pouces :3 lignes. In this Rittenhouse followed the astronomer royal, Nevil Maskelyne, and Jefferson followed D'Alembert. On both points, though with characteristic delicacy, he rejected Rittenhouse's position. Rittenhouse has been credited with influencing the nature of the report, but the fact is that, interesting and confirmatory as his comments were, their traces in the final work are confined to the clarification of phraseology in one instance and the corrections of one or two simple errors of calculation in another. 21 The evidence that Madison had a more determining influence in the preparation of the report lies not merely in his being consulted at an earlier stage than Rittenhouse, Kemp, Johnson, and others were: it exists also in the documents themselves, the most important of which contains Madison's queries on the report as it stood at the completion of the second stage about the middle of May.22 What Madison saw fit to ask Jefferson to consider is enlightening, and while the extent of his influence in advancing these criticisms is doubtful, some probabilities and a few ascertainable facts may be noted. One of the queries suggests that it may have been Madison who prompted Jefferson to arrive at his strong doubts about the accuracy of English calculations of the length of the second's pendulum for the latitude of London. It is certain that Madison's criticism of Jefferson's proposed dimensions of 15 by :3 inches for the pottle measure as exceeding "a convenient proportion" was heeded. 23 His suggestion of uniform cylinders instead of rectangular measures was related to this and may have been prompted by a desire to accommodate the new system to habit and custom. Jefferson accepted the former and rejected the latter, and both men were evidently aware that something more than "a convenient proportion" or the mathematical difficulty of squaring the circle was involved here. The fact is that ancient custom had decreed the measuring out of gross items, such as oysters and potatoes, in a dry measure filled to a conic heap above its rim. One consequence of this was a practice that involved a subtle evasion: John Beale Bordley noted, for example, that in Pennsylvania retailers directed their coopers to make measures deep and narrow, very unlike the Winchester bushel with its extraordinary diameter of 18~ inches which admitted "a conic heap one third as much as the cylindrical contents" and thus favored the buyer. He suggested that there "ought to be some form and proportion in the parts of the half bushel, fixed on by law, as a rule for coopers."U Jefferson's rectangular measures would have reduced the conical heap slightly even with due regard for proportions, but his system did prescribe dimensions and would have facilitated calculations. Madison's criticism of this departure from custom, however, must have prompted 21 C. Doris Hellman, "Jefferson's efforts towards the decimalization of United States weights and measures," Isis, XVI (1931), 266-314, at p. 289-90; Malone, Jefferson, II, 276-81; for traces of Rittenhouse's influence in the report, which can be precisely identified, see notes 1, 2, 5, 10, and 13, Document VII. 22 See Document VI. 23 See Document v, note 17. 24 Bordley, On monies, coins, weights, and measures, p. 23-4.

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EDITORIAL NOTE Jefferson to defend his choice by adding another sentence to the report: "Moreover, till the circle can be squared, the cylinder cannot be cubed, nor it's contents expressed in figures."25 The real reason for Jefferson's preference for rectangular measures was that they would enable "every one who has a rule in his pocket to verify their contents."26 But it is significant that Madison raised the question: he may have feared that Jefferson's innovation would collide with custom and thus influence even those for whose benefit it was intended to resist its adoption. It is possible, too, that it was Madison who urged Jefferson to abandon the idea entertained in the early stage of the report of calling one measure of capacity a metre (corresponding to the bushel) and another a roquille, each of the latter of which would be one-fourteenth less than the measure of that name in France and so would "serve as a link between their measures" and the American system. 21 But the political implications of such phraseology, added to those involved in a nomenclature that broke too sharply with custom, were obvious and Jefferson may himself have made the prudent deletion. Even so, the roquille as a rough equivalent for the cubic inch found its way into the later phase of the first stage of the report and the early phase of the second. It is probable that Madison's influence may be detected in the idea of bringing into convenient focus at one point the comparative values of the existing and proposed units of weight and measure instead of placing these under various categories in the text. This was indeed what Jefferson had done in the first instance, and it is very likely that Madison objected to the departure from that order in the second stage as being less "easy of comparison."28 In any case, the original plan was reinstated. It is not possible to say whether it was Madison's advice or Jefferson's independent decision that determined the most striking difference between the first and second stages of the report. That difference hinged not so much on the nature of the plan as on the means of persuading congress to adopt it. The resolution of the house of representatives called upon the secretary of state to prepare "a plan or plans," but in its formative state Jefferson's report called for a single, integrated system of weights, measures, and coins based on decimal calculation and emplying the second's pendulum as the standard of length and the cubic inch of distilled water as the standard of weight. There was nothing original in this, for its central concept was being generally advanced by men of science in Europe and in America. It was, however, a thoroughly radical departure: indeed it is doubtful whether a reformation of comparable extent, in comprehensive fullness and explicitness, has ever been similarly reduced to the brevity of two small sheets 25 Document v, note 21. 26 Document v. 21 Document IV, notes 6 and 7. A memorandum in TJ's hand in DLC: TJ

Papers, 233: 41956 (see note on MS 3, Document IV) defined the roquille as -h of 47.5 cubic pouees. According to Littre, Dictionnaire (Paris, 1886), a roquillil was an ancient measure of wine containing a fourth of a setier, an ancient measure of grain of approximately 156 litres. 28 See Document v, Dote 54, and Document VI, note.

[609

J

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 of paper. 29 Without accompanying argument or explanation, this was essentially the plan that Jefferson had had in mind in 1784 and continued with characteristic pf""'iistence and patience to urge upon the nation until the end of his life. 30 Nor can there be any doubt that this was in substance the sort of reform that Madison desired, if we may judge from his letter of 1785 to Monroe and his later recommendation as president. Yet the second and succeeding stages of Jefferson's report advanced two distinct, alternative plans, the first of which was by far the less radical of the two: it merely sought to standardize the existing system by reference to the second's pendulum. Jefferson's own opinion of that plan may be gathered from his opinion of the similar system proposed in England a quarter of a century later: it would not, he said, "change their unit, or . . . reduce into any simple order the chaos of their weights and measures. "31 Madison, to whom the first stage of the report was sent for advice, must have agreed with this general position. Why, then, the introduction into the report in its second and succeeding stages of a plan that neither wished? The reason given in the report itself is that Jefferson was doubtful "as to the extent of the reformation meditated by the house of representatives," that he was uncertain whether congress thought "the difficulty of changing the established habits of a whole nation [opposed] an insuperable bar to this improvement." But the very phraseology in which the doubt was expressed suggests the true cause. The plan that Jefferson preferred was "an improvement": the decision in 1786 to have one money of account and of payment had ~een so generally approved at home and abroad that nothing seemed wanting ''but the actual coinage, to banish the discordant pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings of the different states," and the second plan was merely the proposal of "a like improvement" in weights and measures. Jefferson had wanted to make the full reform in 1784 but had been obliged to take the single step. Now, it seems clear, he intended by setting the two systems side by side to demonstrate in simple and conclusive argument which was In the draft this was a single sheet (see Document IV). See, for example, Autobiography, and TJ to John Rutherford, 25 Dec. 1792; TJ to Thomas Cooper, 27 Oct. 1808; TJ to John Quincy Adams, I Nov. 1817; TJ to Robert Patterson, 10 Nov. 1811. In 1800 TJ thought of including the report in an edition of Notes on Virginia because "by getting abroad it might prepare the public mind for adopting something more certain and convenient than the present system of weights and measures"; TJ to M. L. & W. A. Davis, 21 Dec. 1800. 31 TJ to John Quincy Adams, I Nov. 1817. It is worth noting that it was James Madison's message to Congress of 1816 that led to the preparation of John Quincy Adams's classic report of 22 Feb. 1821 which relied so heavily on TJ's report of 1790. In recommending that Congress take up the subject, Madison said: ''The great utility of a standard fixed in its nature, and founded on the easy rule of decimal proportions, is sufficiently obvious. It led the Government at an early stage to preparatory steps for introducing it, and a completion of the work will be a just title to the public gratitude." When congress took the subject under consideration in 1792 and seemed to be considering a "middle ground" between his two alternatives, TJ declared that he had himself considered such a position in his report of 1790 but had deliberately abandoned it; TJ to Rutherford, 25 Dec. 1792. There is no evidence in the documents that he gave any thought in 1790 to such an alternative. 29

30

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EDITORIAL NOTE the reformation most to be desired. The inclusion of the alternative system, therefore, appears as a device of legislative strategy. Both Jefferson and Madison were well aware that hostility to change existed, particularly in the mercantile community. One influential senator whose voice on commercial matters could prove decisive was already on record in favor of complacent acceptance of the existing order: "It is very fortunate for us that the Weights and Measures used throughout America are the same. Experience has shewn in other Countries that the Efforts of the Legislator to Change Weights and Measures altho fully seconded by the more enlightened Part of the Community have been so strongly opposed by the popular Habits and Prejudices that Ages have elapsed without producing the desired Effect. I repeat therefore that it is happy for us to have throughout the Union the same Ideas of a Mile and an Inch a Hogshead and a Quart, a Pound and an Ounce. So far our commercial Dealings are simplified and brought down to the level of every Capacity."32 Such was the opinion of Robert Morris in 1782, and there is no reason to suppose that the financier had become an advocate of reform in the intervening years. Jefferson's alternative plan must be viewed in the light of such anticipated opposition to change, and so too must his extraordinary emphasis upon the great variety to be found in statutory provisions for defining the capacity of the gallon and the bushel. The report seemed at times to be almost a direct rebuttal of Morris' assumption that the New Hampshire farmer could tell precisely what a bushel in South Carolina was. Nor could Jefferson have lost sight of the fact that Robert Morris held him responsible for the attack on the tobacco monopoly during his years in France. In view of these facts and of the extremely close relations between Jefferson and Madison, it is plausible to assume that the two men discussed the idea of including alternative proposals. In any case the decision was a weighty one, for it unquestionably delayed and possibly doomed the report. The postponement, to be sure, brought the advantage of the proposals made in France by Talleyrand-Perig-ord, Bishop of Autun, and in England by Sir John Riggs Miller, both of which tended to strengthen the assumptions on which Jefferson's own preferences rested. But, as Jefferson himself said later, "it is a great and difficult question whether to venture only on a half reformation, which by presenting fewer innovations, may be more easily adopted, or . . . make a radical reform."3s In the spring of 1790 he was not engaged in passing on this difficult question to a legislative body, the answer to which in that event would have been a foregone conclusion. What he was endeavoring to do was to persuade congress to take the step that reason indicated as the best solution in the long run for the 32 Robert Morris to president of congress, 15 Jan. 1782; Vol. 7: 160-1. When England referred its measures to the pendudum, TJ wrote John Quincy Adams, 1 Nov. 1817: "It is the mercantile part of our community which will have most to do in this innovation; it is that which having command of all the presses can make the loudest outcry, and you know their identification with English regulations, practices and prejudices. It is from this identification alone you can hope to be pennitted to adopt even the English reference to a pendulum." 33 TJ to John Dorsey, 21 Jan. 1808.

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WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 nation and for the world. To support this purpose he held out the inducement of a gradual introduction until the public mind should become used to the novel features of the plan, and he held out also the emphatic warning that the longer the delay the greater would be the difficulties because of the increase in population. To this certain factor he could have added an anticipation of the passing of "this age of reformation" in which public discussion of the question provided an auspicious climate. But one of the most interesting aspects of Jefferson's collaboration with Madison involves that part of the report which is most conspicuously original. In the rough draft of the second state of the report, presumably drawn up in late April or early May, Jefferson set down an observation drawn directly from his collation of English statutes governing weights and measures and from his calculation of relationships between the troy and avoirdupois systems. This was an observation that not only had not occurred to the committees that reported to parliament on English weights and measures in 1758 and 1759 but was in contradiction of one of their findings. In compiling his own report Jefferson relied upon the work of the parliamentary committees as "the best written testimony existing of the standard measures and weights of England." From their reports he derived the information that a statute of Henry VIII adopted in 1532 was "the first that speaks of Averdupois unequivocally as a weight" and that another the following year repealed it, hence, in the opinion of the comittees, "the avoirdupois weight was not an antient weight of the kingdom, nor ever even a legal weight, but during a single year of the reign of H.8."an opinion resting primarily on the silence of the laws. 34 But Jefferson's study of the facts revealed to him a very striking relationship between the troy and avoirdupois systems: that is, that there existed the same ratio between the two systems as between ''the antient liquid gallon of Guildhall" and the corn gallon, a ratio repeated in the relationship of ''the specific weight of any measure of wheat, and of the same measure of water," and having a similar correspondence between weights and solid measures. This harmony between the two systems deeply impressed Jefferson, and it may be questioned whether he would have detected it had he not made it his task and duty to perform all of the required calculations himself. A ''triple set of exact proportionals representing weights, measures, and the things to be weighed and measured," he concluded, "must have been the result of design, and scientific calculation, and not a mere coincidence of hazard." He believed, in brief, that "the dry and wet measures, the heavy and light weights must have been original parts" of one whole. This harmony and corroboration ''from very high antiquity" seemed to him stronger proof .that avoirdupois was a legal weight than mere silence of the laws was of the contrary supposition. The demonstration of this, exciting though the ingenious deduction obviously was to Jefferson, was not an essential part of his argument. 34 See Document v. In DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41939 there is a memorandum in TJ's hand listing the statutes that mention troy and avoirdupois weights.

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EDl TORIAL NOTE Madison may have objected to its inclusion on this ground, but his query placed it on another. He questioned whether the inference as to the "coinciding circumstances" of the troy and avoirdupois systems was valid. It seemed to him that the ratio between a specific weight of wheat and that of pure water explained on such grounds assumed a state of knowledge "to[o] accurate and philosoph[ical] for antient times," and it is very likely that he discussed with Jefferson both the validity of the inference and the desirability of retaining it in the report. His query justifies this assumption. Whether he did or not, the fact is that Jefferson was so struck by the coincidence of the two systems that he revised the phraseology of this passage more extensively than he did any other in the middle portion of his report. He not only did not yield to Madison's criticism then, but at a later date-perhaps in the interval after his retirement as secretary of state and before he became president-he returned to the point and carried it much further. In a four-page manuscript that he inserted in his own copy of the Stockdale edition of Notes on Virginia as an intended footnote to the query on weights and measures, Jefferson conjectured that the troy system ''is taken from the Grecians, from whom our Physicians derive their science" and that the "Avoirdupois weight is taken from the Romans from whom . . . we derive our Agriculture and Commerce"; that the two series were in ancient times "united by the equality of the Drachm and Denarius" and in the course of time had "become a little separated in use"; but that "the point at which their separation has been arrested, and fixed, is a very remarkable one. 1000. ounces avoirdupois make exactly a cubic foot of water. This integral, decimal, and cubical relationship induces a presumption that while deciding among the varieties and uncertainties which, during the ruder ages of the arts, we know had crept into the weights and measures of England, they had adopted for their standard those which stood so conveniently connected through the medium of a natural element, always at hand to appeal to." Jefferson then recurred to the proportions that he had noted in his report of 1790-employing at times the same languageand concluded: "A more natural, accurate, and curious reconciliation of the two systems of Greece and Rome which happened to be found in use could not have been imagined." By this time Jefferson was so captivated by the idea that he imagined he had discovered a singular coincidence between the lawful currency of some of the colonies and the money systems of Greece and Rome, as evidenced by the fact that those that had valued the dollar at six shillings caused the penny thereby to contain six grains of silver, the same as the content of the Roman as. This was an integral extension to coins of the relationship that he had observed between the two systems of weights and measures. The hypothesis was a bold One which Jefferson declined to surrender, though he was obliged to admit that there was ''no trace either in English or American history, that these were the views which determined the relations existing between our weights, measures and monies. But it is more difficult to conceive that such a series of combinations

[ 613 J

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 should have been merely accidental, than that History should have been silent about them. "35 It is clear from the foregoing that Jefferson's earliest and closest collaborator in the drafting of the report was James Madison. It is equally clear that the result was essentially his own and that, embracing the advanced opinion of men of learning in Europe and in America, he aimed at simplicity, comprehensiveness, and precision. When the report had been fully matured, Jefferson sent to Hamilton and to Rittenhouse what he mistakenly referred to as rough drafts, asking each to consider specific questions. 36 He probably consulted John Kemp of Columbia College about the same time, but he did not turn to Robert Leslie until he was ready to transmit the report to congress. 37 Almost at once after writing Hamilton and Rittenhouse he learned of the proposal of Talleyrand and unhesitatingly embraced the latitude of 45· as "a term which might consequently unite the nations of both hemispheres."3B This meant revising all of the calculations, but Jefferson did this speedily and no doubt gladly, hoping that encouraging news from France and England would insure the adoption of a universal system. This revision was the only significant alteration made in the report after Jefferson extended the circle of those whom he consulted to include others besides Madison and it was made not to modify any of the essential features of the proposed system so much as to cause it to coincide with what promised to be a general movement forward. He transmitted the report to the speaker of the house in the hope that that body might be disposed ''to have due regard to the proceedings of other nations engaged on the same subject"-an expression perhaps deliberately chosen on the anniversary of the day when congress had expressed its decent regard for the opinions of mankind-and that action might therefore be deferred until the next session. 39 The suggestion was a natural one under the circumstances but it is possible that this was the fatal blow to Jefferson's purpose. For if ever a moment existed in which the public mind seemed ripe for a general reformation and in which political circumstances appeared auspicious, the summer of 1790 was assuredly that moment. Not only had the public become accustomed in the preceding year to serious discussions of radical proposals of reform in weights and measures, but no open opposition or even complacency such as Robert Morris exhibited in 1782 seems to have been voiced. The president and the house of representatives had called for a plan or plans based on the concept of uniformity, and Alexander Hamilton had read the report with "much satisfaction" and agreed that the "idea of a general standard among nations . . . seems 35 This manuscript insertion was first printed, along with other additions by TJ, in the Richmond, 1853, edition of Notes on Virginia. It is included in William Peden's edition, Chapel Hill, 1955, p. 293-5. 36 T J to Hamilton, 12 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 12 June 1790. 37 Kemp to TJ, 28 June 1790; TJ to Leslie, 27 June 1790. 38 Talleyrand's Proposition faite a r Assemblee Nationale, sur les poids et mesures was enclosed in Short's letter of 29 Mch. 1790, received 15 June 1790. Sowerby, No. 3761. See Document VII, note on MS 1. The speech of Sir John Riggs Miller of 13 Apr. 1790 was received from Cutting on 18 June 1790. 39 Document m.

[ 614 J

EDITORIAL NOTE full of convenience and order."40 The coalition that he and Jefferson had formed in connection with the assumption and residence bills possessed a decisive and firm majority: the very newspaper that printed the first part of the report on weights and measures alluded to that majority as "overbearing and intriguing" and the adjectives were testimony to its power.41 With an apparently receptive public and with the powerful support of Washington, Hamilton, and Madison, Jefferson's reform, it seems, could scarcely have failed of adoption. But such a fortunate conjunction of circumstances never appeared again, and thus was lost the opportunity that many viewed as one for setting an example to the world. "Hardly too much in praise of this system of Jefferson's can be said," modern authorities on the history of the subject write, "and its adoption by Congress would have exerted a wonderful effect on metrology, not only in the United States but also in the world at large. "42 This was such a plan as Europe would have expected of the young nation and of the pen that produced such revolutionary documents as the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. But the moment for placing it on the statute books had passed forever. The report was sent to the speaker of the house on 4 July 1790 but was not laid before that body until the 13th. On a motion by Theodore Sedgwick it was "ordered to be printed for the use of the House."43 Francis Childs and John Swaine immediately brought out the first of four impressions that were printed by that firm in 1 790 and announced in the New York Daily Advertiser of 2 Aug. 1790 that a few copies remained. The report was printed in the New-York Journal of 3 and 5 Aug. 1790, and the publishers of the American Museum requested a copy and promptly reprinted it in that journal. 44 A fifth impression of the pamphlet was brought out by Childs and Swaine early in 1791, partly because an error of calculation had been found and Jefferson was obliged to revise all of the figures and to send to the house and senate a separately printed sheet containing these revisions. 45 The Hamilton to TJ, 16 June 1790. New-York Journal, 3 Aug. 1790; the attack on the "overbearing and intriguing majority" was reprinted from the Stockbridge, Mass., Western Star. 42 Hallock and Wade, Evolution of weights and measures and the metric system, New York, 1906, p. 112 (the authors, however, quite misunderstood TJ's intent and method in saying that "he was not a zealous advocate of either of the propositions he had advanced, and was willing to leave the entire matter to Congress"; p. 114). 43 JIm, I, 268 states that the report was "ordered to lie on the table," but the resolution quoted above, which is obviously the more reliable source, is from the journal as printed in Gazette of the United States, 13 July 1790. The first pamphlet edition states that it was "Published by Order of the House of Representatives" (New York, Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1790; Evans, No. 22994). 44 Evans, Nos. 22994-7; Carey, Stewart & Co. to TJ, 10 Aug. 1790; the report was printed in the Sep. 1790 issue of American Museum, II, Appendix ii, 36-46. 40 The fact that TJ caused the single sheet (p. 47-52) to be separately printed is proved not only by his allusion in TJ to Cooper, 27 Oct. 1808, but also by the existence of a copy of this printed sheet in DLC: TJ Papers, 65: 11262-5 showing on the errata page (f. 11265) that the revisions within the main body of the report, seven in number, were listed in this form whereas those in the 40

41

[ 615 }

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 credit for discovering this error belongs to Philip Schuyler, and both the discovery and the number of reprintings of the report amply testify to the widespread public interest in the subject and in Jefferson's treatment of it. Characteristically, Jefferson did not consider his responsibility discharged by the preparation of the report but joined in the effort to bring it to the attention of the public at home and abroad. As in other instances-for example, his plan for the distribution of copies of Notes on Virginia-he sent copies to the teachers of youth, such as Ezra Stiles and George Wythe, and he was no doubt gratified by the warm responses evoked in centers of learning. 46 The widespread public interest in the subject was reflected in the fact that Washington continued to recommend that Congress take action on it. This he did on 7 Dec. 1790 and again on 25 Oct. 1791 in the following emphatic words: "An uniformity in the weights and measures of the Country is among the important objects submitted to you by the Constitution, and if it can be derived from a standard at once invariable and universal, must be no less honorable to the public Councils than conducive to the public convenience."41 This led in 1792 to a senate report and to extended debate on the subject. 48 Again in 1795 Washington recommended the subject to congress and a year later a bill actually passed the house, but went no further.49 By that time, as is now plainly evident, two formidable obstacles had arisen to make the adoption of Jefferson's plan of 1790 extremely difficult if not impossible. The first of these was the number and variety of competing plans offered by zealous partisans, for example those of Robert R. Livingston and Oliver Wolcott. Livingston frankly told Jefferson that he preferred his own theories, and Wolcott, in an unfinished "Sketch of a Report . . . intended to be prepared for Congress" that utilized some elements of the proposal of 1790, placed his finger on the second and more important of the obstacles: it was the "factions of the time," he said, that had combined with more urgent avocations to prevent him from completing his sketch and he added without much optimism: "If we ever have a uniform system, this paper will be very useful."50 In the debates of 1796 when appendix (or note 8) were entirely reprinted. The revisions in this printed leaf correspond with those indicated in notes 32-48, Document VII; those listed amongthe errata correspond with the alterations indicated in notes 21, 22, 23, 26, 28, and 29, Document VII. See Documents VIII and IX. The separately printed sheet of 8 pages included the postscript of 10 Jan. 1791. 46 Schuyler to TJ, 22 Aug. 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 1 Aug. 1790; Stiles to· TJ, 27 Aug. 1790; Wythe to TJ, 31 Aug. 1790; Vaughan to TJ, 2 Dec. 1790; it is very likely that TJ gave copies to William Samuel Johnson, John Kemp,. and other teachers as well. 41 Washing-ton, Writings, ed. Fitzpatrick, XXXI, 168, 403. 48 See TJ to Rutherford, 25 Dec. 1792, and notes there. 49 Hellman, "Jefferson's efforts towards the decimalization of United States weights and measures," Isis, XVI (1931), p. 302-4. 50 Livingston to TJ, 1 Oct. 1790; Oliver Wolcott, "An Essay, suggesting a plan to introduce [unifo]rmity in the weights and measures of the United States of America," undated MS in clerk's hand with note by Wolcott on ,p.[l8]. Wolcott accepted the pendulum rod as the standard of measure, referred to TJ's report but credited the ''ingenious Mr. [George] Graham" with having constructed such a rod in 1721, and premised that the new system "should retain as far as possiblethe denominations of the old, and approximate as nearly as may be, to the leng-th,.

[ 616 }

EDITORIAL NOTE Jonathan Havens, a Long Island republican, supported the recommendation that congress appropriate funds so that Rittenhouse could conduct an experiment on the length of the vibrating rod in the latitude of Philadelphia, opposing partisans treated the matter with levity. 51 Thus the ridicule of innovations in science that identified reformation with French revolutionary ideas made it inevitable that the subject of weights and measures should have been viewed through partisan eyes, anticipating in this respect the derisiop. with which Federalists greeted Jefferson's horned toad, salt mountain, and fossil bones. It is significant that when Jefferson came to the presidency he made no effort to introduce the uniformity in weights and measures in which he was so deeply interested, despite the fact that Pennsylvania urged that the federal government take action. 52 It is equally significant that, after leaving office and as president of the American Philosophical Society, he proposed that that body call upon the scientific academies of the world to "adopt the second pendulum as the unit of measure on the authorities of reason, convenience, and common consent." He did this on the supposition that, "if men of science, in their publications, would express measures always in multiples and decimals of the pendulum, ... they would soon become familiar to all men of instruction, and prepare the way for legal adoptions."58 That proposal, too, failed of adoption but the supposition on which it was founded marked out the path along which progress toward universal standards seemed alone possible. A decade later, when the "age of reformation" of 1790 that had provided such a promising climate for his report seemed to be reviving under the efforts of Madison and Adams, Jefferson expressed an undimmed hope that the reform would be adopted: "The division into dismes, cents, and mills," he wrote in his Autobiography, "is now so well understood, that it would be easy of introduction into the kindred branches of weights and measures." A century and a half later, after endless negotiation and at tremendous cost, the universal inch seemed to be on the point of legal adoption among English-speaking nations. This would not have surprised Jefferson, who believed that such matters should not be left "to the tardy will of governments, who are always, in their stock of information, a century or two behind the intelligent part of mankind, and who have interests against touching ancient institutions."54 capacity, and weight of the latter." He accepted the idea of decimalization in part. On p.[7] a slip in TJ's hand is attached to Wolcott's MS containing a variant draft of that part of the report suggesting that "2160. cubic inches, being a middle tenn between the (Winchester) statute and Excise bushel and being also exactly 11,4 cubic foot, might be adopted as a compromise between the states using the larger and smaller bushel." How and when Wolcott came into possession of this memorandum is not known; his MS essay is in Wolcott Papers, CtHi. u Annals, 4th cong., 1st sess., p.1575. Not all political opponents, however, were opposed to refonn in weights and measures; John Keen (1747-1852), a Philadelphia federalist, endeavored to promote a decimalized system of weights and measures (PMHB, IV [1880], 550). 62 Hellman, same, p. 504; Gallatin to TJ, 22 Jan. 1808; Dorsey to TJ, 20 Dec. 1807; TJ to Dorsey, 21 Jan. 1808. 68 TJ to Robert Patterson, 11 Sep. and 10 Nov. 1811. U TJ to Robert Patterson, 11 Sep. 1811.

[ 617]

1. Tench Coxe to John Jay Phil ada. J any 25th. 1790.

SIR

An ingenious Artist of this City has informed me within a few days that he has made a discovery which has been for some time a desideratum both in Science and Commerce. It is connected with the Uniformity of weights and measures, and as that object has been refered to the Secretary of State whose Duties I presume you discharge till you enter on those of your judicial station I do myself the honor to address you on the subject. The errors produced in philosophical and commercial operations by inaccurate measures of length, capacity and weight have been long a subject of regret. Many premiums have been offered and several attempts have been made to obtain invariable standards for weights and measures, communicable and recoverable at all times, and among all Nations. The apparatus of Mr. Halton was a step towards this end, and Mr. Whitehursts improvements upon that proposition made a nearer approach to the desired object; but Mr. Robert Leslie, a watch-and instrument-maker in Philadelphia, is confident, that he has discovered a perfect mode liable to none of the objections, which are justly made to the two first. The following statement will place the matter in some degree before you, and will give you most of the ideas which have been communicated to me. The attainment of this desideratum always has been and probably must be attempted by means of the pendulum. Mr. Whitehursts improved method, which is by that apparatus has been found liable to the following objections. 1st. Mr. Whitehurst uses two Pendulums, which requires more time, and occasions greater probability of error than Mr. Leslies mode, who has constructed a single Pendulum capable of being sufficiently varied in length to answer the purposes of the two. The loss of time spent in and the errors incident to the second mensuration are thus avoided, and more perfect accuracy is consequently obtained. 2dly. Mr. Whitehursts ball must be of a given weight and size, and its radius must bear two certain proportions to the two pendulum wires, which will occasion a great number of operations; and must produce a degree of inaccuracy, (where-ever the workmen are not almost perfect) sufficient to destroy that absolute precision which is necessary to the truth of standards. These objections, Mr. Leslie assures me, he also avoids, as his Pendulum may be of any weight or magnitude; and of any convenient length. 3dly. The extreme smallness of Mr. Whitehursts pendulum wire (being less [ 618 ]

II. WILLIAM WARING'S PLAN

than three grains in weight tho' eighty inches in length) is such, that it cannot but be bent by the maintaining power (which continues the vibrations) at the place wherein that power acts upon it. This is in effect to alter the length of the wire. Mr. Leslie avoids this objection also, for his pendulum rod may be of any convenient thickness. The simplicity of this new Apparatus, and the facility with which the operation can be performed by it are great advantages, and its accuracy he assures me is perfect. The Inventor of this Society had thoughts of applying to the Society of Arts in London for a premium of one hundred Guineas, which they have offered these sixteen years for the discovery. But he has determined at least to postpone it, and in the mean time he wishes thus much of the nature of his plan to be communicated to the general Government. If, on digesting the subject to which it belongs, you should desire a Communication of it, I believe I can obtain it from him. If he has been really successful, the Apparatus will probably be the means not only of removing considerable obstructions to the extension of our foreign Commerce, and the progress of general Science but of giving perfection and truth to many important operations of the Mint, the Banks, the Custom house, and the private trader. I have the honor to be with very great Respect Sir, your most obedient humble Servant, TENCH COXE

Should I be mistaken, Sir, in supposing that the office of Secretary of State is at present in your Charge, you will be pleased to lay this letter before the gentleman, who conducts it till Mr. Jefferson arrives at New York. RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); in clerk's hand, except for signature, postscript, and address; addressed: "The honble. John Jay Esquire New York"; endorsed by Remsen as received 1 Feb. 1790.

II. William Waring's Plan for Weights and Measures A Plan for the Regulation of Weights and Measures; respectfully proposed to the Legislature of the United States. As our venerable President, in his late Address to the Senate and House of Representatives, was pleased to recommend to their Attention, "A Uniformity in the Currency, Weights and Measures of the United States," as, "An Object of great Importance"; and an invariable universal Standard for Weights and Measures having [619 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

long been a Desideratum in Europe, I am induced to suggest a few Thoughts on that Head; especially as an extraordinary Opportunity now offers for an important Regulation in these necessary Particulars; hoping that some Friend to the Commonwealth who has more Leisure and better Abilities, may undertake to do the Subject justice. The Divisions of Money adopted by the late Congress are so extremely simple, convenient, and well adapted to easy Computation, by their harmonizing with the Order of Numbers, that they far exceed every thing of the kind elsewhere in the World; and if a similar Plan were to take Place for Weights and Measures, deduced from a permanent Standard, which could be easily and accuratly obtain'd in any Age or Nation, independently of all prior Measures, it would, I conceive, add much to the Reputation, Convenience and Advantage of our rising Country: for it would so wonderfully simplify our Arithmetic, Gauging, Surveying, &c. that they might be learned in much less Time, and with less Expence than is now necessary; which must be an Object of Consequence to the Youth in general, to Parents of the less affluent Class in particular, and to the Advancement of Science; consequently-a public Good. For this Purpose, the following little Scheme is hinted, with due deference. As a Dollar was judiciously chosen for the Money-Unit, so might the Unit or Standard for universal Measures be The Equatorial* Pendulum, Viz. the Length of a Pendulum, from the Centre of Motion to the Centre of Oscillation, which would vibrate Seconds at the Equator in Vacuo, or with a proper maintaining Power in Air. Such a Measure accurately prepared, when the Thermometer stands at, or about, 55 Degrees of Farenheit's Scale, of some Substance the least liable to Contraction or Expansion by different Degrees of Heat, would, on many Accounts, be the best Standard ever yet proposed; not only for Lineal Measures, but also for Measures of Capacity and Weights: at least, much better than the Length of a King's Arm, the Original of our present Yard, or the variable ponderosity of a Grain of Wheat. This proposed Standard, being just 39t English Inches, would be of a suitable Length for common Use; it might be called a Pend (from Pendulum) or the Federal Ell, and be both divided decimally and increased in a decuple Proportion, according to the excellent Order of Numbers, like the Money-Unit; by which Ratio, the Con.. More eligible than those of particular Latitudes, as heretofore proposed.

t The Result of Theory and Experiment.

[620 ]

II. WILLIAM WARING'S PLAN gruity of our Money , Weights and Measures would almost preclude the Necessity of Calculation, and their regular Gradations most beautifully convey the Ideas of Extension and Quantity, so as to excite the Admiration, if not the Imitation of foreign Nations. On these Principles are essayed the following Tables; in which it may be observed, that several of the Terms are Contractions of significant Latin Words; but as Names are merely arbitrary, they may be altered at Pleasure. Table I. of Lineal Measure. 10 Mins = 1 Decu = .39 In. 10 Catens = 1 Muta = 325.Ft. 10 Decus = 1 Hand = 3.9 10 Mutas = 1 Mile =3250.10 Hands = 1 Pend =39. 10 Miles = 1 League, 11.3 of 10 Pends = 1 Caten =32.5 Ft. which = 1 0 of a Great Circle on the Earth's Surface, nearly. Table II. of Plane Measure. 10 Sqr. Decus = 1 Med 10 Floors = 1 Sqr. Caten 10 Meds = 1 Sqr. Hand 10 Sqr Catens = 1 Rood, nearly 10 Sq. Hands = 1 Foot, nearly the common 10 Roods = 1 Acre, about 21h = common Sqr Ft. 10 Feet = 1 Sqr Pend common 10 Sqr. Pends = 1 Floor or 10 Acres = 1 Hide 10 Hides = 1 Sqr. Mile. Square Table III of Solid Measure. 1000 Cubic Mins = 1 Cubic Decu 10 Trimins = 1 Cubic Decu 1000-Decus = I-Hand 10 Cubic Decus = 1 Bidecu 10 Bidecus = 1 Tridecu 1000-Hands = I-Pend, &c. 10 Tridecus = 1 Cubic Hand &c. &c. 10 Cubic Hands = 1 Bihand Or thus: 10 Bihands = 1 Trihand 10 Cubic Mins = 1 Bimin 10 Trihands = 1 Cubic Pend, 10 Bimins = 1 Trimin &c. A prismical vessel 1 Hand Square and 4 deep, or 4 cubic Hands, = 237~ cubic Inches, being but a very small Quantity more than the English Wine-Gallon, would be a good Standard for the Federal Gallon; hence Table IV of Liquid Measure. 10 Mets = 1 Pint 10 Gallons = 1 Firkin 10 Firkins = 1 Vas. or Hogs10 Pints = 1 Gallon head. ( 621 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

And a prismic Vessel, 3 Hands Square and 4 deep, containing 36 cubic Hands, or 9 of the above Gallons = 2135~ cubic Inches, nearly equal to the Winchester Bushel, might be a Standard for ours; or rather a Circular Measure of equal Capacity; the proportion of the Diameter to the Depth not essential, provided the irregular Custom of Heaping be discontinued. Hence Table V of Dry Measure. 10 Manus = 1 Pottle 10 Pottles = 1 Bushel

1

10 Bushels = 1 Seem 10 Seems = 1 Way.

Yet, seeing the Confusion consequent to a diversity of Measures, perhaps it would be better to have but one Standard established for Liquid and Dry Measures; and so make the Bushel equal to ten Liquid Gallons: thus, 10 Pints = 1 Gallon; 10 Gallons = 1 Bushel, &c. as before. Though this Bushel would be Y9 more than the former, I believe any little Inconvenience which might arise at first introducing it would be much overbalanced by future Advantages. But, If we must still retain the Weights, and Measures now in use, their Stand Dimensions, either Square or Circular, may be as well expressed in parts of the Equatorial Pendulum as in Inches, and divided as above. Now as to Weights: An English cubic Foot of Rain or River Water weighing just 1000 Ounces Avoirdupois, half a cubic Hand, or VB of a Gallon = 17.16 might be a Standard for our Pound; or, if the pound must [be] the same as now in Use, a Metalic Prism, .5 of a Hand Sqr. and 1.86436 long, weighed hydrostatically in this Fluid, would shew the Weight of an equal Magnitude thereof to great Accuracy, which would be exactly the Avoirdupois pound; either of them to be Divided, &c. as in Table VI of Weights. 10 Grains = 10 Drams = 10 Ounces = 10 Pounds =

1 Dram 1 Ounce 1 Pound 1 Stone

10 Stone = 1 Centon 10 Centons = 1 Mille 10 Milles = 1 Quinton [5 Tons.]1

Thus, the Equatorial Pendulum, may be an exact, permanent Standard for any Weights or Measures whatsoever, whether those now in Use or better, whereby they can be communicated by Information only, and obtained to sufficient Accuracy, independently [622 )

III. JEFFERSON TO THE SPEAKER

of all other Measures, in any part of the World, to the latest Posterity. WM. WARING Philada. 30th. 1 mo. 1790. MS (DLC). 1

Brackets in MS.

III. Thomas Jefferson to the Speaker of the House of Representatives New York July 4. 1790. SIR In obedience to the order of the house of representatives of Jan. 15. I have now the honor to inclose you a Report on the subject of measures, weights and coins. The length of time which intervened between the date of the order, and my arrival in this city, prevented my recieving it till the 15th. of April, and an illness which followed soon after added unavoidably some weeks to the delay; so that it was not till about the 20th. of May that I was able to finish the report. A desire to lessen the number of it's imperfections induced me still to withold it a while: till on the 15th. of June came to my hands from Paris a printed copy of a proposition made by the Bishop of Autun to the National assembly of France, on the subject of weights and measures, and three days afterwards I recieved, thro' the channel of the publick papers, the speech of Sr. John Riggs Miller of Apr. 13. in the British house of Commons/ on the same subject. In the report which I had prepared, and was then about to give in, I had proposed the latitude of 38 0 • as that which should fix our standard, because it was the medium latitude of the U.S. but the proposition before the National assembly of France 2 to take that of 45. 0 as being a middle term between the equator and both poles, and a term which might consequently unite the nations of both hemispheres, appeared to me so well chosen, and so just, that I did not hesitate a moment to prefer it to that of 38. 0 It became necessary of course to reform all my calculations to that standard; an operation which has been retarded by my other occupations. The circumstances will, I hope, apologize for the delay which has attended the execution of the order of the house: and perhaps a disposition on their part to have due regard to the proceedings of other nations 3 engaged on the same subject, may induce them still to defer deciding ultimately on it till their next session. Should this be the case, and should any new matter occur in the mean time, I [623 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 shall think it my duty to communicate it to the house, as supplemental to the present report. I have the honour to be with sentiments of the most profound respect, Sir, Your most obedt. & most humble servt. Dft (DLC); at foot of text: ''The Speaker of the House of representatives." FC (DNA: RG 59, SDR). 1 TJ first wrote "the British parliament." 2 TJ first wrote " ••• the proposition

of the Bishop of Autun," and then altered the passage to read as above. 3 T J first wrote ". . . two respectable nations on the other side of the Atlantic," and then altered the passage to read as above.

IV. First State of the Report on Weights and Measures [April 1790] Sir Isaac Newton has determined the length of a pendulum vibrating Seconds in latitude to be 39.2 inches = 3.2666 &c feet measuring from it's point of suspension to it's center of oscillation. A rod vibrating seconds must be of the same length between the point of suspension and center of oscillation: and this center will always be found at two thirds of the whole length. Such a rod then will be 58.8 Inches or 4.9 feet English measure long. The divisions and multiples of this last measure accomodating themselves not at all to the measures and weights in use with us; but the double of it, to wit, 9.8 feet doing this remarkeably well and admitting a good check being equal to the Treble of the Pendulum of equal vibration 1 Let the standard of measure be the Double length of a rod or Treble length of a Pendulum vibrating seconds. It will yeild us the following series of divisions and multiples.

[624 ]

......

CJt

~

~

,....,

=

= 10. 100.

=

10. bushels or firkins a Quarter a Double TunS 10. quarters

=

A Cubic Inch 6 10. cubic inches 7 Demi-pint 10. demi-pints Pottle 10. potties a cub. foot Bushel or Firkin

=

=

= =

=

=

=

=

Equivalents in English measures of English measures the same name 1.617491. about 1. 16.749 16.875 161.749 135. 1617.496547987 c.1. .936051243048 c.f. 2160. 9.3605 cub.f. 11.736 cub. feet 80. 93.605

MEASURES OF CAPACITY OR SOLID MEASURES.

American Notation .001 .01 .1 1.

=

=

American notation .01

English measures Equivalents in English Measures of the same name A Line to be noted thus .1175 21. 10. lines = an Inch .1 1.1 About t less = 1.175 10. inches = a Foot 12. r;\s more 1. 11.758 10. feet = the Doubles of a 1" Rod 16.5 10. = 9.78 feet t more 66. 10. rods 4 = a Chain5 100. t less 97.821 10. chains = a Furlong 660. } less 1000. = 978.212 } less 5280. 10. furlongs = a Mile = 9782.125 10000. _ 97.821 f.sq. a square Chain of Land 100 f.sq. - 9558.94 sq.f. 104.555 f.sq. } Eng.rood or 10890 sq.f. 200 f.sq., 195.642 f.sq. 4. sq. chains an Acre 208.71 f.sq. t more 58275.8 sq.f. or 45560 sq.f.

MEASURES OF LENGTH, OR LONG MEASURES

less less t more ! less

t

i less l more

~

~

.....

l>:)

~

,....,

COINS

9.360512 oz. .58503210. 93.60512 oz. 5.8503210. 936.0512 oz. 58.503210 . 9360.512 oz. 585.032 10.

.9360512 oz.

Avoirdupoise

=

710.9764

71.0976410.

9.7210. Troy

7.10976410. Troy

100. lb. Avoird. 1000. lb. Avoird.

437.5 1. 10. Troy

.5 gr. Troy 4. 40.

English Weights of same name

Troy .409522418 grs. 4.09522418 40.9522418 409.52218 } { .8531717 oz. Troy .7109764.10. Troy

Equivalents in English weights

! more

! more

t less

·lrr less ! less

equal -t-rJ more

About

i less

10. 10. dollars

= the Eagle

= Dimes = the Unit or Dollar

10.mills = a Cent 10. cents a Dime

A Mill

1.

.1

.001 .01

Makes ! of a grain or n"olf of a Dollar difference

Remains of pure Silver in the Dollar The Dollar as fixed by Congress had pure silver

The ounce weight will be as above Suppose the alloy r\-

0.24445

375.64

375.395550

grs. Troy 409.522418 34.126868

Let the Cubic inch, or Ounce of Rain water be the standard of weight for the Unit or Dollar.

9

= A DemigraJ .0001 10. demigrains = a Carat .001 10. Carats = a Double Scruple .01 .1 10. double scruples = an Ounce (cub. I. rain water) 10. ounces = a Pound 1. 10. pounds = a Stone I 10. 100. 10. stone = a Kental 10. kental = a Demi-Tun 11000.

American Notation

Let Rain water, as the most homogeneous substance, be referred to as the standard for weights, and a cubic of that be called an Ounce.

WEIGHTS.

IV. FIRST STATE OF THE REPORT

Qu. The Quantum of alloy being arbitrary to a certain degree, might it not be so fixed as to offer an easy means of trying the purity of the coin; viz. so proportioned that it should occasion the coin to lose -to of it's weight when weighed in water? 2. Qu. Or (supposing the value of pure gold to be to that of silver as 15: 1) is it more convenient so to alloy both metals as that in a golden dollar e.g. the pure metal shall be 115 of that in the silver dollar, and the alloy 115 also of that in the silver dollar: so that the alloyed masses shall be in the same proportion with the pure metals they contained? MS (DLC: TJ Papers, 233:41955); entirely in TJ's hand except for the date "April 1790" on verso, which is in James Madison's hand; with deletions and interlineations, some of which are noted below. The first paragraph has lines drawn through it (see note 1); this and other alterations indicate that the MS, though at first a fair copy, became a draft for subsequent texts as to that part summarizing the proportions between the proposed decimal notation and other systems of weights and measures. A considerable number of fragments, calculations, notes, lItc in Jefferson's hand are extant and related to the above text. For convenience of reference these are numbered and described as follows: MS 1: The quarter-leaf in TJ's hand in DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41971 shows that TJ took up the matter of weights and measures shortly after arriving in New York. It bears the date "1790. Mar. 28." and reads: "The cubic foot (Eng) of water weighs 1000. oz. If the foot were divided into 10. inches, a cubic inch of water would be 1. oz. But 1 oz. is near the weight of a dollar. Cannot the Dollar, the ounce, and the inch be thus made the center of money, weights and measures e.g. declare a cube of water of the weight of a dollar shall be an inch. 10.1. a foot. [On verso:] Declare correspondence between the mile and l' pendulum. geom. mile 1 2000 yds. or 1000 fathom furlong T), 200 100 10 chain T!(f 1 fathom T~1J =2 foot 1 01M = 71 Inches inch 1010M i I. acre 10 square chains

=

=

=

Weights Water the substance 1 cubic inch ( Oncia) the ounce ! oz. 10 oz the 10 10 10 the stone 10 stone the Kental 10 Kentals the 10 the Myriad T), oz Th oz rJn1J oz [At foot of page, ruled off from the above:] Rather take cubic foot 12! lind call it the stone or T), stone a pound = 1l 10 l1J 10. an ounce 2 oz. Avoird. l1Joz." This MS bears notes from 1787 to 1790: ( 1) "Marseilles Hotel des Princes ce 31me Mars 1787"; (2) an abbreviated notation reading "amg the 1st. obj. of yr. attentn," which may refer to the heading for a paragraph in TJ's letter to Madison of 18 Nov. 1788; and (3) a note belonging perhaps to 1789 reading: "12001t for Gates's medal-Wythe-King." This MS is clearly the earliest record of T J's speculations about a system of weights and measures after he arrived in New York. MS 2: A single sheet in TJ's hand, DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41966 is the first draft of the MS printed above, but contains only the comparative figures for the proposed units. The equivalent figures vary, however: the inch is 1.176 instead of 1.173 English measure; the ounce is .94119 avoirdupois and 411.770625 grains Troy instead of .9360512 and 409.52218 respectively; the cubic inch is 1.62638 English measure instead of 1.61749; and the calculation for the unit of money varies

[627 ]

=

=

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 in accordance with the variation in the ounce. The figures in this MS were originally the same as those in MS printed above, but were altered by overwriting, the multiples of the units of measure and weight being altered accordingly (see note 2, below) . The names of the various measures and weights are the same as in MS printed above, except that the measures of length begin with the point, and in the measures of capacity the "double Ton" is also deleted in this draft and "Last" is interlined (see note 8). MS 3: Miscellaneous notes concerning various statutory definitions of various English weights and measures, all in T J's hand, undated, and written on blank address-covers of letters and other scraps of paper are to be found in DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41953-4, 41958v, and 41959-61. These notes served as the basis for corresponding parts of the report and are sometimes repetitive. A series of equations and calculations on similar scraps of paperone of which bears a Richmond postmark of 9 April-is also to be found in DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41956-8, 41961v-5, 41967-8, 41970, and 41980-1. Some of the notes and calculations concerning the silver content of the dollar probably belong to late 1790 and early 1791. A memo at f.41968 relates to the second query in MS printed above and also contains a calculation concerning the number of cents to be struck from copper sheets at 80 per ton-a notation probably made

when T J was preparing the report on copper coinage (see under 14 Apr. 1790). This juxtaposition of the two notes is further confirmation of the assumed date of early April 1790 for this first state of the report on weights and measures. 1 All of the text to this point was struck out by TJ employing crossed and diagonal lines. 2 The equivalents in all of the measures and weights are altered by overwriting (see MS 2 above). 3 Above this word TJ wrote the tentative designations "Decade" and "ruthe." This and other similar designations are in a less formal handwriting than that of the text and were obviously added after MS had served its purpose as a clear copy. 'Above this word TJ wrote the tentative designation "decades." 5 Above this word TJ wrote the tentative designations "Centuple," "Rood," and "Ruthe." 6 Above this word TJ wrote the tentative designation "Roquille." 7 These two words are deleted in MS and the word "Roquilles" substituted therefor. 8 These two words are deleted in MS and the word "Last" substituted therefor. D This word is deleted in MS; TJ then substituted "Pipe . . ." for it, after which he deleted these two terms and interlined "Hogshead." See MS 2 above.

V. Second State of the Report on Weights and Measures [April-20 May 1790]

The Secretary of state, to whom was referred by the house of representatives to prepare and report a proper plan or plans for establishing uniformity in the currency, weights and measures of the U.S. in obedience thereto makes the following report. To obtain uniformity in measures, weights, and coins, it is necessary to find some measure of invariable length, with which, as a standard, these subjects may be compared. There exists not in nature, as far as has been hitherto observed, anyone body accessible to man, which presents a single invariable dimension. [628 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

The globe of the earth itself indeed may be considered as invariable in all it's dimensions, and that it's circumference would furnish an invariable measure. But no one of it's circles, great or small, is accessible to admeasurement through all it's parts.1Matter then, by it's mere extension, furnishing nothing invariable, it's Motion is the only remaining resource. The motion of the earth round it's axis is uniform and invariable. It is measured obviously, but unequally, by the departure and return of a given meridian to the sun, constituting a solar day. Throwing together the inequalities of Solar days, a mean interval, or day, has been found, and divided by very general consent into 86,400 equal parts. A Pendulum, vibrating freely in small and equal arcs, may be so adjusted in it's length as, by it's vibrations, to make this division of the earth's motion into 86,400 equal parts, called seconds of mean time. Such a pendulum then becomes itself a measure of determinate length to which all others may be referred as to a standard. [It is liable however to the following incertainties. 1. Both theory and experience prove that to preserve it's isochronism, it must be shorter towards the equator and longer towards the poles. 2. Being best made of metal, it is liable to vary it's length with the variations in the temperature of the air. S. If the Bob be a ball (which form can be produced in practice more exactly than any other) the length of the pendulum is not the distance from the center of suspension to either the center or bottom of the ball, but to a point between the two, called the center of oscillation; and this point being within the body of the ball and consequently inaccessible to the measure, becomes one source of incertainty. 4. If the suspending thread be of nearly insensible weight, it will be so flexible as to be liable to bend in it's vibrations, and consequently to shorten the length of the pendulum. If it be sufficiently inflexible, it will then be of weight sufficient to displace the center of oscillation, and so also shorten the true length. These incertainties indeed are minute: yet if a substitute can be found which is clear of some of them at least, it ought to be preferred. The vibrating rod, of uniform diameter, tried heretofore by others for other purposes, has been suggested for this by Mr. Leslie, an ingenious artist of Philadelphia.)2 [629 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

AnyS diameter, sufficient to render it inflexible in it's vibrations, may be taken; because be the diameter great or small, the center of oscillation remains the same. This center being known to reside at one third of the whole length of the rod, measured from the bottom4 might be easily and accurately ascertained in practice. But the whole rod is better for a standard than any portion of it because it is sensibly defined at both it's extremities. [The rod then, instead of the pendulum, avoids the incertainties arising from the inaccessibility of the center of oscillation, and from the weight of the suspending thread. But, like the pendulum, it's length will vary with the latitude, and with the temperature of the atmosphere. To lessen the first variation, the middle latitude of the U.S. may be declared to be that which is to give the standard, and the completion of the 38th. degree may be taken as the middle latitude, neglecting as to this purpose the parts beyond the 31st. and 45th. degrees. The extent of the variations from this standard Northwardly and Southwardly can then be examined.]5 The Second pendulum for 38. 0 of latitude, according to Sr. Isaac Newton's computation, must be of 39.1285 inches English measure; and a rod, to be isochronous with respect to a pendulum, must be of the same length between the centers of suspension and oscillation, and consequently it's whole length 58.69275 inches. This is but6 1~ of an inch too long for the Southern limit of 31.0 and 313 of an inch too short for the Northern one of 45. 0 These differences are so minute that they may be neglected as insensible for all the common purposes of life. But in cases meriting perfect exactness, the second rod, found by trial of it's vibrations in any part of the U.S. may be corrected by the computations of the same author for the latitude of the place, and brought exactly to the standard of 38. 01 The expansion and contraction of the rod with the change of temperature will occasion a greater variation in it's length. According to the high authority8 before quoted, an iron rod of given length may vary, between summer and winter, in temperate latitudes and in the common exposure of house clocks, from I! 4 to 2 ~ 1\ of it's whole length, which, in a rod of 58.69277 I. will be from about a quarter to 140 of an inch. This is too sensible a variation to be neglected. It may be avoided by adjusting and preserving the standard in a cellar or other place, the temperature of which never varies. [630 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

Iron is named for this purpose because it is the least expansible of the metals. It should be gilt to protect it from the rust which might in time shorten it. 9 Let the Standard of measure then be an iron rod, of uniform diameter, and of such length as, in latitude 38. 0 and in a cellar or other place the temperature of which does not vary thro' the year, shall perform it's vibrations, in small and equal arcs, in one second of mean time. A standard of invariable length being thus obtained, we may proceed to identify by that the measures, weights, and coins of the United States. But here a doubt presents itself as to the extent of the reformation meditated by the house of representatives. The experiment made by Congress in the year 1786. by declaring that the money of account and paiment should be the same through the U.S. and that it's parts and multiples should be in a decimal ratio, has obtained such general approbation both at horne and abroad, that nothing seems wanting, but the actual coinage, to banish the discordant pounds, shillings, pence and farthings of the different states and to establish in their stead the new denominations. Is it in contemplation with the house of representatives to extend a like improvement to our measures and weights, and to arra~ge them also in a decimal ratio? The facility which this would introduce into the vulgar arithmetic, would unquestionably be soon and sensibly felt by the whole mass of the people, who would thereby be enabled to compute for themselves whatever they should have occasion to buy, to sell, or to measure, which the present complicated and difficult ratios place beyond their computation for the most parl. Or, is it the opinion of the representatives that the difficulty of changing the established habits of a whole nation opposes an insuperable bar to this improvement? Under this uncertainty the Secretary of state thinks it his duty to submit alternative plans that the house may at their will adopt either the one or the other exclusively; or the one for the present, and the other for a future time, when the public mind may be supposed to have become familiarized to it.

I. And first on the supposition that the present measures and weights are to be retained, but to be rendered uniform and invariable by bringing them to the same invariable standard. The first settlers of these states having corne chiefly from England, brought with them the measures and weights of that country. [ 631 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

These alone are generally established among us, either by law or usage, and these therefore are alone to be retained and fixed. We must resort to that country for information of what they are or ought to be. This rests principally on the evidence of certain standard measures and weights, which have been preserved of long time in different deposits. But differences among these having been known to exist the house of commons, in the years 1757. and 1758. appointed committees to enquire into the original standards of their weights and measures. These Committees, assisted by able Mathematicians and artists, examined and compared with each other the several standard measures and weights, and made reports on them in the years 1758. and 1759. The circumstances under which these reports were made entitle them to be considered as far as they go as the best written testimony existing of the standard measures and weights of England: and as such they will be relied on in the progress of this report. Measures of length. 10 The measures of length in use among us are the league of 3. miles the mile of 8. furlongs the furlong of 40. poles, or perches the pole or perch of five yards and a half the fathom of 2 yards the ell of a yard and a quarter the yard of 3. feet the foot of 12. inches and the inch of 10. lines. On this branch of their subject the committee of 1757. 1758. sais that the Standard measures of length at the Receipt of the Exchequer are a Yard, supposed to be of the time of H. 7. and a Yard and Ell supposed to have been made about the year 1601. that they are brass rods, very coarsely made, their divisions not exact, and the rods bent, and that, in the year 1742, some members of the Royal society had been at great pains in taking an exact measure of these standards by very curious instruments, prepared by the ingenious Mr. Graham; that the Royal society had had a brass rod made pursuant to their experiments, which was made so accurately, and by persons so skilful and exact that it was thought not easy to obtain a more exact one; and the Committee in fact found it to agree with the standards at the Exchequer as near [632 J

V. SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

as it was possible. They fumish no means, to persons at a distance, of knowing what this standard is. This however is supplied by the concurrent testimony of the learned of that nation, who agree very generally that the second pendulum, as computed by Sr. Isaac Newton for the latitude of London, is 39.2 inches of their measure. Consequently the second rod for that latitude would be 58.8, which is a line, or lo of an inch longer than the standard rod of 38. 0 that is to say 5! 8of the whole rod. Let the standard rod of 38. 0 then be divided into 587 equal parts and let each of these be declared a line; 10. lines an inch; 12. inches a foot; 3. feet a yard; 3 feet 9 inches an ell; 6. feet a fathom; 5 yards and a half a perch or pole; 40. poles or perches a furlong; 8. furlongs a mile; 3 miles a league. Superficial measures. Our superficial measures are The Acre of 4. rood; and the Rood of 40. square poles, so established by a statute of 33. E. 1. Let them remain the same. Measures of capacity. The measures of capacity in use among us are of the following names and proportions The gill, 4 of which make a pint; 2 pints a quart; 2 quarts a pottle; 2 pottles a gallon; 8 gallons make a measure called a firkin in liquid substances and a bushel dry; 2 firkins or bushels make a measure called a barrel liquid and a coomb dry, this last term being antient and little used; 2. barrels, or coombs, make a measure called a hogshead liquid, or a quarter dry; each being the quarter of a ton; a hogshead and a third make a tierce or third of a ton; 2 hogsheads make a pipe, butt, or puncheon; and 2 pipes make a ton. [633 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

There is moreover the Rundlet or Kilderkin containing 2. firkins, peculiar in measure as well as name to the liquids, and the peck of 2 gallons, peculiar in measure and name to the dry substances.u But no one of these measures is of a determinate capacity. The report of the committee of 1757. 1758 shews that the gallon is of very various content; and that being the Unit, all the others must vary with that. The Gallon and bushel contain 224. and 1792. cubic inches, according to the standard wine gallon preserved at Guildhall: 231. and 1848. according to the statute of the 5. Anne; 264.8 and 2118.4 according to the antient Rumford quart of 1228. examined by the committee; 265.5 and 2124. according to three standard bushels preserved in the Exchequer, to wit, one of H. 7. without a rim, one dated 1091. supposed for 1591. or 1601. and one dated 1601. 266.25 and 2130. according to the antient Rumford gallon of 1228. examined by the committee. 12 268.75 and 2150. according to the Winchester bushel as declared by stat. 13.14.W.3. which has been the model for some of the grain statesY 271. less 2 spoonfuls, and 2168. less 16 spoonfuls, according to a standard gallon of H. 7. and another dated 1601. marked E.E. both in the Exchequer. 271. and 2168. according to a standard gallon in the Exchequer dated 1601. marked E. and called the corn gallon. 272. and 2176 according to the 3. standard corn gallons last mentioned, as measured in 1688. by an artist for the Commissioners of the Excise, generally used in the sea-port towns and by mercantile people, and thus introduced into some of the grain states.14 277.18 and 2217.44 as established for the measure of coal by the stat. 12. Anne. 278. and 2224. according to a standard bushel of H.7. with a copper rim, in the Exchequer. 278.4 and 2227.2 according to two standard pints of 1601. and 1602. in the Exchequer: 280. and 2240. according to the standard quart of 1601. in the Exchequer: 282. and 2256. according to the standard gallon for beer and ale in the Treasury. There are moreover varieties on these varieties from the barrel to the ton inclusive: [634 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

for if the Barrel be of Herrings, it must contain 28. gallons by the stat. 13. El. c.l1. if of wine it must contain 31 i gallons by the stat. 2.H.6. c. 11. and 1.R.3.c.15. if of beer or ale it must contain 34. gallons by the stat. 1. W. & M. c.24. and the higher measures in proportion. In those of the U.S. which have not adopted the statutes of W. & M. and of Anne before cited, nor their substance, the wine gallon of 231. cubic inches stands on the authority of very long usage before the 5th. of Anne, the origin and foundation of which are unknown: the Bushel is the Winchester bushel by the 11. H. 7. undefined: and the barrel of ale 32. gallons, and of beer 36. gallons by the stat. 23. H. 8.c.4. The Secretary of state is not informed whether there have been any, and what alterations of these measures by the laws of the particular states. It is proposed to retain this series of measures, but to fix the gallon to one determinate capacity, as the Unit of measure, both wet and dry; for convenience is in favor of abolishing the distinction even between wet and dry measures. The wine gallon, whether of 224 or 231 cubic inches, may be15 altogether disregarded as concerning principally the wealthy and the mercantile, the least numerous part of the society, and the most capable of16 reducing one measure to another by calculation. This gallon is little used among the mass of farmers, whose chief habits and interests are in the size of the corn bushel. Of the standard measures before stated, two are principally distinguished in authority and practice. The statute bushel of 2150 cubic inches, which gives a gallon of 268.75 cubic inches, and the standard gallon of 1601. called the Corn gallon, of 271. or 272. cubic inches, which has introduced the mercantile bushel of 2176 cubic inches. The former of these is most used in some of the grain states, the latter in others. The middle term of 270. cubic inches may be taken as a mutual compromise of convenience, and as offering this general advantage, that the bushel being of 2160. cubic inches, is exactly a cubic foot and a quarter, and so facilitates the conversion of wet and dry measures into solid contents and tonnage, and simplifies the connection of measures and weights, as will be shewn hereafter. It may be added in favor of this as a [635 }

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

medium measure, that eight of the standard or statute measures before enumerated are below this term, and nine above it. The measures to be made for use being foursided, with rectangular sides and bottom, the Pint will be 3. Inches square and 3% I. deep. 3. I. square and 7112 I. deep the Quart the Pottle 3. I. square and 15. I. deepl1 the Gallon 6. I. square and 7112 I. deep18 the Peck 6. 19 the Half bushel 12. I. square and 7112 I. deep square and 15. I. deep.20 and the Bushel 12. I. Cylindrical measures have the advantage of superior strength: but square ones have the greater advantage of enabling every one, who has a rule in his pocket, to verify their contents by measuring them. 21 Let the measures of capacity then for the U.S. be a gallon of 270. cubic inches: The gallon to contain 2. potties: The pottle 2. quarts; The quart 2. pints; The pint 4. gills. 2. gallons to make a peck; 8. gallons a bushel or firkin; 2. bushels or firkins a strike or kilderkin;22 2. strikes or kilderkins a coomb or barrel;23 2. coombs or barrels a quarter or hogshead; 2. hogshead and a third, one tierce; 2 hogsheads a pipe, butt or puncheon; and 2 pipes a ton. And let all measures of capacity of dry subjects be stricken with a straiht round strike of (equal) uniform diameter from one end to the other,24 Weights There are two series of weights in use among us: the one called Avoirdupois, the other Troy. In the Avoirdupois series The Pound is divided into 16. ounces; The Ounce into 16. drams; The Dram into 4. quarters. In the Troy series The Pound is divided into 12. ounces [ 636 ]

V. SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

The Ounce (according to one subdivision)25 into 8. drams The Drams into 3. scruples. The Scruple into 20. grains: According to another subdivision26 the Ounce is divided into 20. pennyweight and the Pennyweight into 24. grains. So that the pound Troy contains 5760 grains of which 7000 are requisite to m&ke the pound avoirdupois. Of course the weight of the pound Troy is to that of the pound Avoirdupois as 5760:7000:: 144: 175. It is remarkable that this is exactly the proportion of the antient liquid gallon of Guildhall, of 224. cubic inches, to the corn gallon of 272. for 224:272:: 144: 175. 27 It is further remarkeable still that this is also the exact proportion between the specific weight of wheat and that of water. For the statute bushel is of 64. pints, and each pint a pound of wheat. Now as 144:175::64:77.77. But 77.77 is known to be the exact [weight of 2150. cubic inches of rain water, from which, taken as a bushel, would result a gallon of 266i cubic inches, which is but one cubic inch more than the gallon formed from three of the four standard gallons in the Exchequer and but half an inch more than the antient gallon of Rumford of 1228. and a fourth of an inch less than the gallon averaged from all the standards.F8 [We 29 find then in a continued proportion 64:77.77::224:272:: 144:175. That is to say, the Specific weight of a measure of wheat to that of the same measure of water, as the cubic contents of the wet gallon, to those of the dry; and as the weight of a pound Troy to that of a pound Avoirdupois. This seems to have been so combined as to render it indifferent whether a thing were dealt out by weight or measure, for the dry gallon of wheat, and the liquid one of wine, were of the same weight; and the Avoirdupois pound of wheat, and Troy pound of wine were of the same measure. so Another remarkeable correspondence is that between weights and solid measures. For 1000 ounces avoirdupois of rain s1 water fill a cubic foot with mathematical exactness. What circumstances of the times,s2 or purposes of barter or commerce called for this combination of weights and measures with the subjects exchanged or purchased, are not now to be ascertained. But a triple set of exact proportionals representing weights, measures, and the things to be weighed and measured, and a relation so integral between weights and solid measures, must have been the result of design and scientific calculation, and not a mere coincidence of hazard. It proves that the dry and wet measures, the [637

J

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

heavy and light weights, must have been original parts of the system they compose: 33 contrary to the opinion of the committee of 1757. 1758. who thought that the Avoirdupois weight was not an antient weight of the kingdom, nor ever even a legal weight but during a single year of the reign of H. 8. and therefore concluded34 to suppress it altogether. Their opinion was founded chiefly on the silence of the laws as to this weight. But the harmony before developed in the system of weights and measures of which the Avoirdupois makes an essential member, corroborated by a general use, from very high antiquity, of that, or of a nearly similar weight under another name,35 seem stronger proofs that this is a legal weight than the mere silence of the written laws is of the contrary. Perhaps the weight is of higher antiquity than the written law. a6 ] Be this as it may, it is in such general use with us, that, on the principle of popular convenience, it's higher denominations at least must be preserved. It is by the Avoirdupois pound and ounce that our citizens 37 have been used to buy and sell. But the smaller subdivisions of drams and quarters are not in use with them. On the other hand they have been used to weigh their money and medicine with the pennyweights and grains Troy weight, and are not in the habit of using the pounds and ounces of that series. It would be for their convenience then to suppress the pound and ounce Troy, and the dram and quarter Avoirdupois, and to form into one series the Avoirdupois pound and ounce, and the Troy pennyweight and grain. The Avoirdupois ounce contains 18. pennyweight Sf grains Troy weight. Divide it then into 18. pennyweight and this pennyweight, as now,ss into 24. grains, and the new pennyweight will contain between a third and a quarter of a grain more than the presl'!nt Troy pennyweight; or more accurately it will be to that as 875:864. a difference not to be noticed either in money orB 9 mede.:ine, below the denomination of an ounce. But it will be necessary to refer these weights to a determinate mass of some substance the specific gravity of which is invariable. Rain water is such a substance, and may be referred to every where, and thro' all time. It has been found by accurate experiments that a cubic fout of rain water weights 1000 ounces avoirdupois standard weights of the Exchequer. It is true that among these standard weights, the committee reports small variations. But this experiment must decide in favor of those particular weights, between which and an integral mass of water so remarkeable a coincidence has been found. Let it then be established that an ounce is of the weight of a [ 638 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

cube of rain water of one tenth of a foot; that the series of weights of the U.S. shall consist of pounds, ounces, pennyweights and grains; whereof 24. grains shall be one pennyweight; 18 pennyweight one ounce; 16 ounces one pound. Coins Congress, in 1786, established the money Unit at 375.64. Troy grains of pure silver. It is proposed to make this less by about the quarter of a grain or fifteenth of a cent, that is to say to establish it at 375.4 instead of 375.64. grains because it will be shewn that this, as the Unit of Coin, will link in system with the Units of length, surface, capacity and weight, whenever it shall be thought proper to extend the decimal ratio through all these branches. It is to preserve the possibility of doing this that this very minute alteration is proposed. 40 We have this proportion then. 875 : 864 :: 375.4 Troy grains: 370.68 American grains, the expression of the Unit in the new grains. Let it be declared, therefore, that the Money Unit or Dollar of the U.S. shall contain 370:68 American grains of pure silver. If nothing more then is proposed than to render uniform and stable the system we already possess, this may be effected on the plan herein detailed; the sum of which is 1. that the present measures of length be retained and fixed by an invariable standard: 2. that the measures of surface remain as they are, and be invariable also as the measures of length to which they are to refer: 3. that the Unit of capacity, now so equivocal/ ' be settled at a medium and convenient term and defined by the same invariable measures of length. 4. That the more known terms in the two kinds of weights be retained and reduced to one series and that they be referred to a definite mass of some substance the specific gravity of which never changes; and 5. That the quantity of pure silver in the money unit be expressed in parts of the weight so defined. In the whole of this no change is proposed, except an insensible one in the Troy grain and pennyweight, and the very minute one in the Money Unit. [639 }

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 II. But if it be thought that either now or at any future time, the citizens of the U.S. may be induced to undertake a thorough reformation of their whole system of measures, weights and coins, reducing every branch to the same decimal ratio, already established in their coins, and thus bringing the calculation of the principal affairs of life within the arithmetic of every man who can multiply and divide plain numbers, greater changes will be necessary. The Unit of measure is still that which must give law thro' the whole system: and from whatever Unit we set out, the coincidences between the old and new ratios will be rare. All that can be done will be to chuse such an Unit as will produce the most of these. In this respect the Second rod has been found on trial to be far preferable to the Second pendulum. Measures of length. Let the Second rod then, as before described, be the Standard of measure; and let it be divided into 5. equal parts, each of which shall be called a Foot.42 It will be about -1 of an inch shorter than the present foot. Let the foot be divided into 10. inches: the inch into 10. lines: the line into 10. points: Let 10. feet make a decad; 10 decads a rood; 10 roods a furlong; 10 furlongs a mile. They may be thus noted and compared with the English measures. 43 The Point Line Inch Foot Decad Rood Furlong Mile

Method of Notation .001 .01

.1 1.

10. 100. 1000. 10000.

Equivalent in English Measure .011 Inch .117 1.175 about ~ more than the English Inch. about if less than the Eng11.758 I.} { .978 f. lish Foot• 9.782 about 'i~ less than the 10. foot rod of the Carpenters. 97.821 about l~ less than the side of an English square rood. 978.212 about t more than the English furlong. 9782.125 about 1 of an English mile: nearly the Scotch and Irish mile, and 1 the German.

*

[640 J

V. SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

Superficial measures. Superficial measures have been estimated, and so may continue to be, in squares of the measures of length, except in the case of lands, which have been estimated by squares called roods and acres. Let the Rood be equal to a square every side of which is 100. Feet. This will be 4.355 English feet less than the English rood every way, and 1321 square feet less in it's whole contents; that is to say about one eighth, in which proportion also, 4 rood will be less than the present acre. Measures of capacity. Let the Unit of capacity be the cubic foot, to be called [a Metre; or, if it be thought better to retain the name of the nearest present measure, it may be called]44 a bushel. It will contain 1617i cubic inches English, be about [/0 less than the smallest English bushel, and i less than that before proposed to be adopted as a medium.]45 Let this be divided into 10 potties; each pottle into 10. demipints; each demipint into 10.[Roquilles, each of which will be 114 less than the measure of that name in France, and so will aerve as a link between their measures and ours.]46 Let 10. metres or 41 bushels be a quarter, and 10. quarters a Last or double ton. They may be thus noted and compared with English measures. 48

Roquille48 Demipint Pottle Metre or47} Bushel Quarter Last

Method of Notation .001 .01 .1 1. 10. 100.

Equivalent in English Measures 1.61749 Inches 16.1749 161.749 {1617.496547987 I. } .936051243048 cu.f. 9.3605 93.605

about l4 less than the English half pint. about i more than the English pottle. about t less than the middlesized English bushel. about t less than the English quarter. about t more than the English Last.

The Measures for use being four-sided, and the sides and bottom rectangular the Metre or41 bushel will be a foot cube; the Pottle 5 inches square and 4 inches deep; the Demipint 2 inches square and 2! inches deep; the Roquille 48 an Inch cube.

[641 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

Weights Let the weight of a cubic inch of rain water be called an ounce; and Let the ounce be divided into 10. double-scruples; the double-scruple into 10. carats; the carat into 10. demi-grains or minims. 49 Let 10. ounces make a pound; 10. pounds a stone; 10. stone a kental; 10. kental a hogshead. They may be thus noted and compared with English weights. 43 Methods of Notation

Equivalent in English weights Avoirdupois

Demigrain, or Minim. Carat

.0001 .001

Double-scruple

.01

Ounce

.1

Pound [qu.Marc?] Stone

1. 10.

Kental Hogshead

100. 1000.

.9360512oz. 9.360512 oz. .585032 lb. 93.60512 oz. 5.85032 lb. 936.0512 oz. 58.5032 lb. 9360.512 oz. 585.032 lb.

Troy .409522418 grains about ~ less than the half grain Troy. 4.09522418 almost exactly the Carat Troy 40.9522418 about-/1)more than two scruples Troy. { 409.522418 grs.} about ilr less than .8531717 oz. the ounce avoirdupois . .7109764 lb. about !less than the Pound Troy. 7.109764 about t less than the English stone of 8 tb. 71.09764 about y\ less than the Kental English. 710.9764

Coins Let the Money-Unit, or Dollar, contain eleven twelfths of an ounce of pure silver. This will be 375.4 Troy grains (or more exactly 375.39555 Troy grains) which will be a quarter of a grain (or more exactly .24445 of a grain) less than the present Unit. This with the twelfth of alloy already established will make the Dollar or Unit of the weight of an ounce, or of a cubic inch of rain water exactly. The series of Mills, Cents, Dimes, Dollars, and Eagles to remain as already established. The Second rod, or the Second pendulum, expressed in the measures of other countries, will give the proportion between their measures and those of the United States. Measures, weights and coins thus referred to standards unchangeable in their nature, (as in the length of a rod vibrating seconds, and the weight of a definite mass of rain water) will them[642 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

selves be unchangeable. These standards too are such as to be accessible to all persons, in all times and places. The measures and weights derived from them fall in so nearly with some of those now in use, as to facilitate their introduction; and being arranged in decimal ratio, they are within the calculation of every oneGO who possesses the first elements of arithmetic, and easy of comparison 51 both for foreigners and citizens with the measures, weights, and coins of other countries. A gradual introduction might perhaps lessen 52 the inconveniences which might attend too sudden a substitution, even of an easier for a more difficult system. After a given term, for instance, it might begin in the Customhouses, where the merchants would become familiarised to it. After a further term, it might be introduced into all legal proceedings, and merchants and traders in foreign commodities might be required to use it in their dealings with one another. After a still further term, all other descriptions of people might receive it into common use. 53 Too long a postponement, on the other hand, would increase the difficulties of it's reception, with the increase of our population. 54 MS (DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 1016374); entirely in T J's hand; consisting of 24 numbered pages with slips pasted on f. 10164 and f. 10164v; with numerous deletions, interlineations, and marginal additions. This MS, like the more famous "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence, has every appearance of being a composition draft; but, also like that, it was originally a fair copy and afterwards served as a medium for recording various changes and corrections that occurred to TJ himself or were suggested by Madison, Rittenhouse, and others. Its prototype was the Dft described below and it was completed in that state by 20 May 1790 (TJ to speaker, 4 July 1790). This was the state in which Madison and Rittenhouse, perhaps others also, saw it, and, even as a fair transcript, it was sent out in mid.June by TJ as a rough draft (TJ to Hamilton, 12 June 1790). After receiving criticisms and particularly after the arrival of letters from Short and Cutting containing the Bishop of Autun's proposal and Sir John Riggs Miller's speech, TJ used this MS to record the necessary alterations caused by using latitude north 45° instead of 38° for calculating the length of the second's pendulum. He thus transformed it into a true rough draft for the final state of the report, employing the slips

pasted on f. 10164 and f. 10164v and making numerous revisions (see Document VII). MS is written in the customary form for tentative drafts, the right half of recto pages and the left half of verso pages being left blank for recording the alterations that were subsequently entered there. Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 233:41948-51, 41592-4); fragmentary composition draft; entirely in TJ's hand; undated but undoubtedly written in Apr. and early May 1790; consisting of that part of the text indicated by notes 10 and 53 below; the unnumbered sequence of 14 pages runs consecutively in the order in which the folios are cited; endorsed on final page: "Measures, Weights and Coins." This Dft served as the prototype for MS printed above and also, as in the case of that MS, T J employed it to record changes that were later made in the text, thus causing it to serve in addition as a rough draft for the final state (see Document VII). In transcribing MS from Dft, TJ occasionally departed from it; the more significant variations are indicated in notes below. Tr (DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 10149-62); in a clerk's hand except for additions by TJ as noted; consisting of 27 numbered pages, though most of the numbers (in TJ's hand) are missing; at head of text TJ wrote: ''first form of the Report on Measures, weights, and coins"; undated,

[643 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 but, notwithstanding TJ's notation, Tr is much nearer to the final than to the first state. Its prototype was MS not as printed above but as it stood after some initial alterations made by TJ after he had consulted Madison; it was probably copied by the clerk in midJune, after TJ had sent copies of MS to Hamilton and Rittenhouse and before he received the letters from Short and Cutting. For an explanation of the final page of MS, originally blank but later filled with the tables comparing existing and proposed units of measure, see note 54 below.

substitute for the Pendulum, a rod of uniform diameter, without a Bob." This revision is incorporated in Tr, but with its second paragraph placed before that beginning: "Any diameter..••" S At this point in MS there is an asterisk and a footnote keyed to it reading: "A convenient one might perhaps be that which would make the whole rod of the weight of the bob of the common house clock." Tr incorporates this addition. 4 This word deleted and "lower extremity" interlined in MS in substitution. Madison suggested the alteration and Tr incorporates it (see Document

1 In margin of MS TJ added: "and the various trials to measure definite portions of them have been of such various result as to shew there is no dependance on that operation for certainty." Tr incorporates this reading. 2 In MS TJ deleted the passage enclosed in brackets (supplied) and substituted the following in the adjacent column: "But even the Pendulum is not without it's uncertainties.-1. The difficulty of ascertaining in practice it's center of oscillation, as depending on the form of the Bob, and it's distance from the point of suspension; the effect of the weight of the suspending wire towards displacing the center of oscillation; that center being seated within the body of the Bob, and therefore inaccessible to the measure; are sources of considerable uncertainty.-2. Both theory and experience prove that, to preserve it's isochronism, it must be shorter towards the equator and longer towards the poles.-3. Being made of metal, as is best, it varies it's length with the variations in the temperature of the atmosphere. 1. In order to avoid the (first of these sources of uncertainty) uncertainties which respect the center of oscillation, it has been proposed by (a) Mr. Leslie, an ingenious artist of Philadelphia, to

VI). 5 In MS TJ deleted the passage enclosed in brackets (supplied) and substituted the following in the adjacent column: "(But the rod, like the Pendulum, will lJary it's length with the latitude of the place, and the temperature of the atmosphere)-2. The uncertainty arising from the difference of length requisite for the second pendulum, or the second rod, in different latitudes, (mentioned as another source of uncertainty) may be avoided by fixing on some one latitude to which our standard shall refer. The middle latitude of the United States (may be declared to be that which is) would seem the most convenient to give the standard to the others and the completion of the 38th. degree may be taken as the middle latitude neglecting as to this purpose, the parts beyond the completion of the 31st. and 45th degrees.-The difference between a rod so adjusted to 38° Latitude, and those for the extremes of 31.° and 45.° are to be examined." This revision is incorporated in Tr and was, of course, made after T J had consulted Madison and before he received the comments of Rittenhouse. It is also to be considered in the light of the revision set forth in note 2, its numbered paragraph being in sequence with that.

6 Keyed to this point by a dagger, TJ wrote in the blank column of MS the following footnote: Sr.I.N's computation pouces inches po. !ignes "31 0 36 - 7.978 36.6483 39.0915 - .0288 = 39.0915 ) 36 - 8.1036 36.6753 (35°-8'-30" 39.1203 .0288 39.1491 - .037 _ 39.0915 38.° 36 - 8.1962 36.68301 39.1285 .0206 - 39.1491 36 - 8.428 45° 36.7023 39.14912 51 °_31' 36. - 8.6426 36.7202 39.1682"

=

+ +

"(The conlJersion of French into English measures 11 pouces 3 lignes are taken

as accurately equilJalent to the English foot.) • • • The pendulum vibrating

[644 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

seconds in the latitude of London is the result of this proportion 11 po.-3 Ii.: 12 Inches : : 36 pouces-8.6426 lignes : 39.1682 inches. Yet most English authors state the length of the second pendulum for London, as computed by Sr. Isaac Newton, to be 39.2 inches; which supposes this ratio 11 pouces2.89 lignes : 12 Inches : : 36. pou.8.6426 lignes : 39.2 inches. They must either have taken 39.2 as the nearest simplification of the fraction 39.1682 or· they must have supposed the equation of French and English measures to be 11 pouces 2.89 lignes 12 Inches instead of 11 po.-3 Ii. 12 I. or they have assumed some latitude for the city of London other than that of 51. 0_ 31' here (assumed) supposed." This addition must have been in MS at the time that Madison saw it (see Document VI), and afterward TJ deleted the passage just quoted and substituted for that part following the asterisk (in MS), the phrasing which found its way into Tr and the final version: "Sr. Isaac Newton computed the second pendulum for 51"-31' (the latitude of London) to be 36. pouces-8.6426 lignes French measure, which is 39.1682 inches English at 11 po.-3 li. to the English foot, at less than which this foot cannot be estimated according to the best authorities. Yet most English authors state Sr. I. Newton's computation at 39.2 English inches, which would suppose the English foot to be only 11 pouces-2.89 lignes or perhaps they adopt 39.2 inches as the nearest simplification of the fraction. Some late experiments and calculations by Messrs. Whitehurst and Hutton make the length of the second pendulum 39.1196 Dr. Halley's calculations made it 39.125 Sr. Isaac Newton's according to the equation of the English foot 11-3 French 39.1682 The same according to the common statement of it 39.2." This version (with the tabular figures at the head of that which preceded it) was incorporated as a footnote in Tr, and was the form in which TJ sent the text to Hamilton, Rittenhouse, and perhaps others around 12 June 1790. The justification for the assumption that Madison saw the first of these revisions and was responsible for the second rests not only on his query, as noted above, but also on the fact that it was he who brought the copy of Whitehurst's book

=

=

to TJ from Philadelphia. Hence the revisions took place between 20 May and 12 June 1790 (TJ to speaker, 4 July 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 12 June 1790). 7 T J altered this passage in MS so as to make it read, as it does in Tr, "by computations for the latitude of the place." Keyed to the word camputation8, the following footnote is in margin of MS: "(These are) Sr. Isaac Newton's computations for the different degrees of latitude from 30. 0 to 45. 0 are as follows. Lat. pieds lignes 30. 0 3-7.948 35 3-8.099 40 3-8.261 41 3-8.294 42 3-8.327 43 3-8~61 44 3-8.394 45 3-8.428 (In converting and reconverting English and French feet, D'Alembert's statement of the Eng. foot 11 p.-3 has been adopted. Picard had made it 11.-2.8 and Maskelyne makes it 11.-3.11." Footnote is incorporated in Tr. B Tr has footnote keyed to this point: "Princip. L. 3. prop.20. prob.4." 9 This sentence deleted in MS and not in Tr. 10 Oft begins at this point. 11 This sentence is not in Tr, being deleted in MS and having the text altered to read: "2. gallons a peck dry measure • . . 2 firkins or bushels make a measure called a kilderkin liquid and a Strike dry. 4 kilderkins or strikes make a measure called a barrel liquid," &c. Tr follows the table as thus altered. 12 At this point the following is deleted in Oft and is not in MS or Tr: "268.2 and 2145.6 according to a brass standard bushel of H. 7. measured in 1696 [Everard's stereometry]." 18 Preceding eleven words not in Oft. 14 Preceding nineteen words not in

=

Drt. 15 In Oft TJ wrote "abolished" and then deleted it. 16 In Oft T J wrote ''most capable of conforming themselves," and then altered the text to read as above. 17 In margin of MS, TJ wrote: "or 41-, 5, and 6 I." This alternative was the result of Madison's criticism. Tr incorporates this change. 18 In Oft TJ wrote "5, 6, and 9 I." and then deleted and later restored the figures; they are incorporated in MS and in Tr as alternative measures.

[645 ]

WEI G H T SAN D MEA SUR KS 1 7 9 0 Madison may have influenced this change also. 19 Thus in MS, but Dft has "6, 9, and 10.1."; these figures are in margin of MS and are in Tr. 20 Dft reads "or 9, 15, and 16 I."; these figures are in margin of MS and are in Tr. 21 TJ interlined the following in Dft: "Moreover, till the circle can be squared, the cylinder cannot be cubed, nor it's contents expressed in figures." This sentence is in margin of MS and is in Tr; it may have been added in reaction to Madison's suggestion. 22 Dft reads: "2. firkins a rundJet or kilderkin"; MS was altered to read as above, and Tr agrees with MS. 28 Dft reads: "4. bushels or firkins a coomb or barrel." 24 Thus in Dft also; Tr reads: "And let all measures of Capacity of dry subjects be stricken with a strait strike." This was an alteration that was probably in response to Madison's suggestion (see Document VI). 25 Tr reads instead: "According to the Subdivision of the Apothecaries." 26 Tr reads instead: "According to the Subdivision for Gold and Silver." 27 Dft, MS, and Tr have a symbol keyed to a footnote reading: ''more exactly, 144 : 175 :: 224 : 272.2." 28 At this point in Dft, keyed to text with an asterisk, T J listed the figures giving the numbers of cubic inches of the gallon as variously defined-seventeen in all, according to the text above, running from 224 to 282 cubic inches-from which he derived the average as 266.7. His table omitted the gallon "as measured in 1688. by an artist for the Commissioners of the Excise," but this was an error of transcription, for its capacity (272 cubic inches) is included in TJ's total; however, he erred in the calculation, for the average was 266.87 instead of 266.7 as he figured it. This may have been the error that he referred to in the unfinished letter quoted in Document VII, note on MS 2, and it probably was discussed by him and Madison. For, before Tr was executed, T J deleted the table in MS (but not in Dft) and caused the passage in brackets ( supplied) to read: "weight of 2150.4 cubic inches of pure water [keyed by asterisk to this point in this footnote: ''more exactly\ 62.5 10. : 1728 :: 77.7 : 2150.39"] which is exactly the content of the Winchester bushel as declared

by the stat. 13. 14. W. 3. That statute determined the bushel to be of a cylinder of 18~ I. diameter and 8.1. depth. Such a cylinder, as nearly as it can be cubed and expressed in figures, contains 2150.425 cubic inches: a result which reflects authority on the declaration of parliament and induces a favorable opinion of the care with which they investigated the contents of the cntient bushel, and also a (probability) belief that there might exist evidence of it at that day unknown to the committees of 1758. and 1759." TJ recorded this alteration in Dft and this interesting variation in the phrasing occurs there: "and induces a favorable opinion •.. and also (a suspicion that they must) probability that there might exist," IItc. The progression from conjecture to probability to conviction is thus to be found in the variant versions of Dft and MS. Tr incorporates the revisions. 29 Except as indicated in notes 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34, the matter in brackets (supplied) follows text in Dft as revised and placed in right column of f.41951 in substitution for the following, deleted in left column: "So that here in a continued proportion 64 : 77.77 :: 224: 272 :: 144: 175. that is the Specific weight of wheat is to that of water as the cubic contents of the wet gallon to those of the dry, and as the weight of a pound Troy to that of a pound Avoirdupois. A series of 3 sets of exact proportionals could not have been the effect [of] chance. It shews a well concerted harmony between our antient weights and measures, and the things to be weighed and measured (it would induce one to conjecture that the weights and measures) that they have been so proportioned as to render it indifferent whether a thing was sold by weight or measure, according to the taste of the buyer or perhaps the different usages of different countries. For the dry gallon of wheat and the liquid one of wine were of the same weight: and the Avoirdupois pound of wheat, and Troy pound of wine were of the same measure.-Let it be further observed that weights and solid measures are as remarkeably related. For 1000 oz. Avoird. of rain water fill a cubic foot with mathematical exactness. A relation so integral (has not been the work of chance) is not to be ascribed to chance: but is evidently part of a sys-

[646 ]

v.

SECOND STATE OF THE REPORT

tern (scientifically calculated) of scientific combinations and judiciously adapted to the circumstances of the times for which it was fonned.-This harmony of the different parts of the system of weights and measures is developed and insisted on here because it is evidence that each is (a) part of (the) a whole. The Committee had supposed from proofs less satisfactory that the Avoirdupois was not (a part) an antient." It is clear that TJ had developed his remarkable inference even before Madison saw it and had reached a conclusion in advance of his early conjectures as set forth in the revisions of Dft; and he continued to insist upon its validity even after Madison expressed a doubt about it. 30 This passage as interlined in Dft (see note 29) reads: "Wine and water are nearly of the same weight, some of the kinds of wine being a little heavier and some a little lighter than water." In MS this was also interlined and revised to read: "Water and the vinous liquors which enter most into commerce are so nearly of a weight, that the difference in moderate quantities would be neglected by both buyer and seller; some of the wines being a little heavier and some a little lighter than water." Tr incorporates this latter version of the change. 31 In both Dft and MS TJ first wrote "rain" and then altered both to read "pure," which is the reading in Tr. 32 As revised in Dft (see note 29), TJ began this paragraph with the following and then deleted it: "Whether different laws or habits in different parts of the country required different alternatives in the mode of buying and selling, or what other circumstances of the times, is not now to be ascertained, but it is evident that there has been a scientific. " 33 As revised in Dft (see note 29), TJ wrote: ". . . were original and constituent parts of one whole," and then altered the passage to read as above. Tr agrees with MS. 34 At this point in MS TJ interlined the following: "(contrary to what) otherwise than will be here proposed," and Tr incorporates the addition. 35 In margin of MS, keyed to this point, TJ wrote: "The merchants weight." Tr inCOrPorates the addition. 36 This sentence is in MS and Dft as revised (see note 29), but is deleted in MS and is not in Tr. The deletion

in MS was probably made after Madison saw it and may have been urged by him. 37 In Dft and in MS these two words are in substitution for ''the people," deleted. 38 In MS this word is deleted and "heretofore" substituted. Tr follows the revision. 39 In Dft the preceding eight words are interlined in substitution for "absolutely insensible in the most useful kind of," deleted. 40 As originally phrased in Dft this paragraph read: "Congress having established the Unit and subdivisions of their coins, and that that unit shall contain 375.64 Troy grains of pure silver, we have this proportion, 875 : 864 :: 375.64 : 370.917. Disregarding the tenth of a grain, let it be declared that the Money unit or dollar of the U.S. shall contain 371. American grains of pure silver." T J transcribed this in MS and then deleted it at bottom of f.10171, beginning again at top of f.10171v to transcribe from Dft the passage as there revised by interlineation, overwriting, and a marginal insertion of two sentences: "Congress in 1786 established the money Unit at 375.64 Troy grains of pure silver. It is proposed to make this a quarter of a grain less, say of 375.4 grains because it will be shewn that this Unit of coin will link the Units of length, surface, capacity, and weight into one system whenever it shall be thought proper to extend the decimal ratio to them also (. . • and tho this should not be done in the present day it seem" worthwhile): to preserve the possibility of doing (it at a future time by this) this is the object in proposing this very minute alteration. We have this proportion then 875 : 864 :: 375.44 : 370.68, the expression of the unit in the new weights. Let it be declared then that the Money unit or dollar of the U.S., shall contain 370.68 American grains of pure silver." But in the course of transcribing this revision from Dft, T J altered its text to read as above. Tr incorporates the revised fonn as recorded at f. 10171v of MS. 41 This word intc:rlined in Dft in substitution for "confused," deleted. 42 At this point in MS TJ interlined the following: "for perhaps it may be better generally to retain the name of the nearest present measure, where

[647 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 there is one tolerably near." Tr incorporates this reading. 43 This explanatory line and the tables of comparison of the units of length, surface, capacity, and weight are placed under their respective headings in Dft (where the tables occur in the blank column) and in MS. Mterward, and before Tr was executed, they were crossed out in Dft and MS and then consolidated in one set of tables at the end of MS and Tr. See note 54 below. 44 The words in brackets (supplied) are deleted in Dft and MS and are omitted in Tr. 45 The words in brackets (supplied) are deleted in MS and in margin T J substituted the following: ";4 less than that before proposed to be adopted as a medium; ,-'1)less than the bushel made from 8. of the Guildhall gallons, and T"~ less than the bushel made from 8 Irish gallons of 317.6 cubic inches." Tr agrees with this revision. ,46 The words in brackets (supplied) are deleted in MS and the following interlined in substitution: "cubic inches which are to be called (Roquilles) (Metres) Metres"; this revision is similarly recorded in Dft. TJ then altered the phraseology in MS to read: "each demi-pint into 10. metres which wiJI be of a cubic inch each." Tr incorporates the latter revision. 47 Preceding two words deleted in Dft and in MS and are not in Tr. 48 In Dft and in MS this word is deleted and "Metre" interlined. Tr agrees. 49 This line altered in Dft and MS to read: " .•• into 10 minims or demigrains; the minim into 10 mites." Tr agrees with this revision. 50 This passage in Dft originally read: ''This system then, being of weights and measures and coins thus built on two things (circumstances) unchangeable in nature, the length of a rod vibrating seconds, and the weight of a definite mass of rain-water: wiJI themselves be (invariable) unchangeable. These standards too will be accessible to all persons in all times and places. Arranged in a decimal ratio, they are within the calculation of every man," &c. 51 This phrase is altered in MS to read "of easy comparison." Thus in Tr. For a comment on this, see note, Document VI. 52 Dft reads: " ••• (might) would

perhaps lessen." Me follows this revision, but there "p -haps" is deleted. Tr reads "would les ,n." 53 Dft ends at thld point. The sentence that follows is in both MS and Tr. 54 Probably as a result of Madison's suggestion ( see note, Document VI; also note 51, above), TJ gathered together on page 24 of MS the various tables of comparison of units of length, surface, capacity, and weight that had been placed under their respective categories in Dft and in MS. On what had been the final blank page of MS, as it presumably was when Madison saw it, TJ gave these comparisons the caption: "(The Decimal system of measures, weights and coins, compared with) The measures, weights and coins of the Decimal system estimated in those of England now used in the U.S." The units and their subdivisions, together with the names and figures for each, coincide in substance with those scattered through MS and Dft, with two exceptions: (1) on p. 24 TJ dropped the alternative name "marc" that he had tentatively queried under weights, and ( 2) on p. 24 he first wrote "Double" for the mile, then deleted it and inserted "Mile." In all of the tables of MS as it stood at this point, the only measure of surface for which an English equivalent is given is the rood, and under coins (which on p. 24 have the designations miJI, cent, dime, dollar, and eagle) no silver or alloy content of the dollar is given. PrC of this page (after additions to adapt it to the final state of the report) is in DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41595, but, whereas MS has diagonal line drawn through it, PrC has none. (There can be no doubt that this is an exact PrC of p. 24 of MS; yet, curiously, it has "Mile" instead of "(Double) Mile" as on p. 24. The only explanation possible for this circumstance is that PrC reflects the original state; that subsequently TJ wrote "Double" over "Mile"; and that he then deleted "Double" and restored the original reading. See description of MS in Document VII.) In caption and text the corresponding part of Tr agrees with PrC. It seems clear that the object in bringing these tables together and providing them with such a caption was not merely to make them "easy of comparison" but also to emphasize the obvious merits of the decimal system.

[648 ]

VI. James Madison's Queries Concerning the Report [ca. 20 May 1790]

Quer. if a fixed! temperature might not be got by referring to a thermometer, the freezing point being the natural standard. Quer. as to the inaccuracy of English calculations of London Pendulum? Quer. if a mode of distributing actual standards thro'the states should not be suggested at the close of the report. Quer. would not uniform cylinders be as easily measured and judged of, as squares. Quer. if the Quarter and Chauldron should not be measures. p. 14/15 Quer. as to the inference from the coinciding circumstances relative to the Avoird. and Troy. Specific weight of wheat and Rain water to[o] accurate and philosoph[ical] for antient times, and alIso a cubic foot. Ipa. 3 bottom. quer. if lower extremity not a better expression and if defined at both extremities-quer. as the measurement must be not from the upper extremity but the center of suspension. Is the difficulty of obtaining a rod perfectly uniform in size &c. not worth noting as an uncertainty, tho' too inconsiderable to form an objection? p.13. Would not the pottle be better defined by diminishing its depth. 15 I. exceeds a convenient proportion to 3 I. square. 2 Ip. 23. Easy of comparison. MS (DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 419789); in Madison's hand except for the two check marks and another notation in TJ's hand (see note 2 below); undated but written ca. 20 May 1790; the page numerals refer to those on MS as printed in preceding document, proving that TJ submitted the second state of the report to Madison; see below. Two interpretations of Madison's note EASY OF COMPARISON are possible. The first is that this was the way TJ wrote the phrase in the penultimate paragraph of the preceding document and that Madison wished him to change this to read "of easy comparison." TJ did in fact make such a change. But it is improbable that Madison, whose queries concerned substantive matters, would have noted such a triviality. The other interpretation is that the note was

merely set down as the reminder of a more important change to be discussed by the two men. In Dft and MS of the preceding document TJ first placed the comparison of the existing and proposed units of length, surface, weight, and capacity under their respective categories. Before the Tr or fair copy of that MS was drawn off, TJ had not only accepted Madison's criticism of the dimension of the POTTLE and made note of it on his MS, but had also gathered all of the comparisons together as an appendix. If, as the Editors believe, it is correct to assume that Madison thought the existing and proposed units would be more EASY OF COMPARISON if brought together, then the MS of Document vended on p. 23 and the next page was blank. If so, then it was after Madison returned that MS with his queries that

[649 }

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 TJ went through it, deleted the various tables of comparisons under their separate heads, and brought them all together on the final page in accordance with that suggestion. See Document v, note 54.

1 This word interlined in substitution for ''unvarying,'' deleted. 2 Following this comment, TJ wrote: "4i x 5 x 6 135"; he then inserted these figures in margin of Dft and MS of Document v.

=

VII. Final State of the Report on

Weights and Measures [4 July 1790] The Secretary of state to whom was referred, by the house of representatives, to prepare and report a proper plan or plans for establishing uniformity in the currency, weights and measures of the U.S. in obedience thereto, makes the following report. To obtain uniformity in measures, weights and coins, it is necessary to find some measure of invariable length, with which, as a standard, they may be compared. There exists not in nature, as far as has been hitherto observed, a single subject, or species of subject accessible to man, which presents one constant and uniform dimension.1 The globe of the earth itself indeed might be considered as invariable in all it's dimensions, and that it's circumference would furnish an invariable measure. But no one of it's circles great or small, is accessible to admeasurement through all it's parts: and the various trials to measure definite portions of them have been of such various result, as to shew there is no dependance on that operation for certainty. Matter then, by it's mere extension, furnishing nothing invariable, it's Motion is the only remaining resource. The motion of the earth round it's axis, tho' not absolutely uniform and invariable, may be considered as such for every human purpose. 2 It is measured obviously but unequally, by the departure of a given meridian from the sun, and it's return to it, constituting a solar day. Throwing together the inequalities of Solar days, a mean interval, or day, has been found, and divided by very general consent into 86,400 equal parts. A pendulum, vibrating freely in small and equal arcs, may be so adjusted in it's length as by it's vibrations, to make this division of the earth's motion into 86,400 equal parts called seconds of mean time. Such a pendulum then becomes itself a measure of determinate length, to which all others may be referred, as to a standard. But even the pendulum is not without it's uncertainties.

[650 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

1. The difficulty of ascertaining in practice it's center of oscillation, as depending on the form of the Bob and it's distance from the point of suspension; the effect of the weight of the suspending wire towards displacing the center of oscillation; that center being seated within the body of the bob, and therefore inaccessible to the measure; are sources of considerable incertainty. 2. Both theory and experience prove that, to preserve it's isochronism, it must be shorter towards the equator, and longer towards the poles. 3. The height of the situation above the common level, as being an increment to the radius of the earth, diminishes the length of the pendulum. 3 4. The pendulum being made of metal, as is best, it varies it's length with the variations in the temperature of the atmosphere. 5. To continue small and equal vibrations through a sufficient length of time, and to count these vibrations, machinery and a power are necessary, which may' exert a small but constant effort to renew the waste of motion: and the difficulty is so to apply these as that they shall neither retard nor accelerate the vibrations. 1. In order to avoid the uncertainties which respect the center of oscillation, it has been proposed by Mr. Leslie, an ingenious artist of Philadelphia, to substitute for the pendulum, an uniform cylindrical rod, without a Bob. Could the diameter of such a rod be infinitely small, the center of oscillation would be exactly at two thirds of the whole length, measured from the point of suspension. Giving it a diameter which shall render it sufficiently inflexible, the center will be displaced indeed; but, in a Second rod, not the* 600,000th part of it's length, ,. In the Second pendulum with a Spherical Bob, call the distance between the centers of suspension and of the Bob, 2 x 19.575, or 2d. and the radius of the 1'" 2 Bob = r. Then 2d : r :: r : - and - of this last proportional expresses the 2d 5 2rr

rr

displacement of the center of oscillation, to wit - - = - . 2 inches have been 5 x 2d 5d proposed as a proper diameter for such a Bob." In that case 1'. will be = 1. I rr

1

and-=--I. 5d 97.87 In the Cylindrical Second rod, call the length of the rod 3 x 19.575, or 3d. and rr

rr

it's radius = r. and - - = - will express the displacement of the center of 2 x 3d 6d oscillation. It is thought the rod will be sufficiently inflexible if it be ! of an inch in diameter. Then r. will be = .11.

and~ =

_1_1. which is but the 12Oth. part 6d 11745 of the displacement in the case of the pendulum, with a Spherical Bob;" and but the 689710th. part of the whole length of the rod. If the rod be even of half an inch 1 1 diameter, the displacement will be but - - of an inch, or - - - of the length 1879 110956 of the rod.'

[651

J

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 and not the hundredth part as much as in a Second pendulum, with a Spherical Bob of proper diameter. This displacement is so infinitely minute then, that we may consider the center of oscillation for all practical purposes as residing at two thirds of the length from the center of suspension. The distance between these two centers might be easily and accurately ascertained in practice. But the whole rod is better for a standard than any portion of it, because sensibly defined at both it's extremities. 8 2. The uncertainty arising from the difference of length requisite for the Second pendulum, or the Second rod, in different latitudes, may be avoided by fixing on some one latitude to which our standard shall refer. That of 38. 0 as being the middle latitude of the United states, might seem the most convenient, were we to consider ourselves alone. But connected with other nations by commerce and science, it is better to fix on that parallel which bids fairest to be adopted by them also. The 45th. as being the middle term between the Equator and Pole has been heretofore proposed in Europe; and the proposition has been lately renewed there under circumstances which may very possibly give it some effect. This parallel is distinguished with us also, as forming our principal Northern boundary. Let the completion of the 45th. degree then give the Standard for our Union, with the hope that it may become a line of union with the rest of the world. The difference between the Second rod for 45. 0 of latitude, and that for 31.0 our other extreme, is to be examined. The Second pendulum for 45. 0 of latitude, according to Sr. Isaac Newton's computation, must be of§ 39.14912 inches English measure, and a rod, to vibrate in the same time, must be of the same length between the centers of suspension and oscillation; and consequently it's whole length 58.7 (or more exactly 58.72368) inches. This is longer than the rod which shall vibrate seconds in 31. 0 of Latitude by about 1/679 part of it's whole length; a difference so minute that it might be neglected, as insensible, for the § Sr. Isaac Newton computes the pendulum for 45. 0 to be S6. pouces 8.428 lignes. Picard made the English foot 11. pouces 2.6 lignes, and Dr. Maskelyne 11. pouces S.Il lignes. D'Alembert states it at 11. pouces S. lignes, which has been used in these calculations as a middle tenn, and gives us S6 po.-8.428 li. = S9.1491 inches. This length for the pendulum of 45. 0 had been adopted in this report before the Bishop of Autun's proposition was known here. He relies on Mairan's ratio for the length of the pendulum in the latitude of Paris, to wit, 504 : 257 :: 72. pouces to a 4.th. proportional, which will be S6.71428 pouces 59.1619 inches, the length of the pendulum for Lat. 48 0 -50.' The difference between this and the pendulum for 45. 0 is .0IlS of an inch: so that the pendulum for 45. 0 would be estimated according to Mairan at S9.1619-.0IlS S9.1506 inches, almost precisely the same with Newton's computation herein adopted.'

=

=

[652 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

common purposes of life. But in cases requiring perfect exactness, the Second rod, found by trial of it's vibrations in any part of the U.S. may be corrected by computation for thet latitude of the place, and so brought exactly to the standard of 45. 010 3. By making the experiment in the level of the ocean, the difference will be avoided which a higher position might occasion. U 4. The expansion, and contraction of the rod with the change of temperature is the fourth source of uncertainty beforementioned, according to the high authority so often quoted. An iron rod, of given length, may vary, between summer and winter, in temperate latitudes, and in the common exposure of houseclocks from II 1/28 to 2~192 of it's whole length: which in a rod of 58.7 inches will be from about two to three hundredths of an inch. This may be avoided by adjusting and preserving the standard in a cellar, or other place, the temperature of which never varies. 12 Iron is named for this purpose, because the least expansible of the metals. 5. The practical difficulty resulting from the effect of the machinery and moving power, is very inconsiderable in the present state of the arts; and in their progress towards perfection, will become less and less. To estimate and obviate this, will be the artist's province. It is as nothing when compared with the sources of inaccuracy hitherto attending measures. 'S Before quitting the subject of the inconveniencies, some of which attend the pendulum alone, others both the pendulum and rod, it must be added that the rod would have an accidental, but very precious advantage over the pendulum in this country, in the event of our fixing the foot at the nearest aliquot part of either: for the difference between the common foot and those so to be deduced would be three times greater in the case of the pendulum than in that of the rod.14 Let the Standard of measure then be an uniform cylindrical rod of iron, of such length as in lat. 45. in the level of the ocean, and 0

t Sr. Isaac Newton's computations for the different degrees of latitude from 30. 0 to 45. 0 are as follows.'" 30· 35. 40. 41.

pieds 3 " 3 " 3 " 3 "

lignes 7.948 8.099 8.261 8.294

pieds 42· 43. 44 45

S " 3 "

S " S "

lignes 8.327 8.361 8.394 8.428

II 'Virga penduli in horologio tres pedes longa, paulo quidem longior erit tempore aestivo quam hiberno; sed excessu quartam partem lineae unius vix superante.Virga ferrea pedes tres longa, tempore hybemo, in Anglia, brevior est, quam tempore aestivo, sexta parte lineae unius, quantum sentio.'''' Newt. Princip. L. 3. prop. 20. prob. 4.

[653 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

in a cellar or other place, the temperature of which does not vary thro'the year, shall perform it's vibrations, in small and equal arcs, in one second of mean time. A standard of invariable length being thus obtained, we may proceed to identify by that the measures, weights, and coins of the U.S. but here a doubt presents itself as to the extent of the reformation meditated by the house of representatives. The experiment made by Congress in the year 1786. by declaring that there should be one money of account and paiment through the U.S. and that it's parts and multiples should be in a decimal ratio, has obtained such general approbation, both at home and abroad, that nothing seems wanting, but the actual coinage, to banish the discordant pounds, shillings, pence and farthings of the different states, and to establish in their stead the new denominations. Is it in contemplation with the house of representatives to extend a like improvement to our measures and weights, and to arrange them also in a decimal ratio? The facility which this would introduce into the vulgar arithmetic would unquestionably be soon and sensibly felt by the whole mass of the people, who would thereby be enabled to compute for themselves whatever they should have occasion to buy, to sell, or to measure, which the present complicated and difficult ratios place beyond their computation for the most part.-Or, is it the opinion of the representatives that the difficulty of changing the established habits of a whole nation opposes an insuperable bar to this improvement? Under this uncertainty the Secretary of state thinks it his duty to submit alternative plans, that the house may at their will adopt either the one or the other exclusively, or the one for the present, and the other for a future time, when the public mind may be supposed to have become familiarised to it. I. And first on the supposition that the present measures and weights are to be retained, but to be rendered uniform and invariable, by bringing them to the same invariable standard. The first settlers of these states having come chiefly from England brought with them the measures and weights of that country. These alone are generally established among us, either by law or usage, and these therefore are alone to be retained and fixed. We must resort to that country for information of what they are or ought to be. This rests principally on the evidence of certain standard meas[654 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

ures and weights, which have been preserved of long time in different deposits. But differences among these having been known to exist, the house of commons in the years 1757. and 1758. appointed committees to enquire into the original standards of their weights and measures. These committees, assisted by able mathematicians and artists, examined and compared with each other the several standard measures and weights, and made reports on them in the years 1758. and 1759. The circumstances under which these reports were made entitle them to be considered as far as they go, as the best written testimony existing of the standard measures and weights of England: and as such they will be relied on in the progress of this report. Measures of length. The measures of length in use among us are The league of 3. miles; The mile of 8. furlongs; The furlong of 40. poles or perches; The pole or perch of 5~ yards; The fathom of 2. yards;

The The The The

ell of a yard and quarter; yard of 3. feet; foot of 12. inches; and inch of 10. lines.

On this branch of their subject the committee of 1757. 1758. says that the Standard measures of length at the Receipt of the Exchequer are a yard, supposed to be of the time of H. 7. and a yard and ell supposed to have been made about the year 1601. that they are brass rods, very coarsely made, their divisions not exact, and the rods bent: and that in the year 1742, some members of the Royal society had been at great pains in taking an exact measure of these standards by very curious instruments, prepared by the ingenious Mr. Graham; that the Royal society had had a brass rod made pursuant to their experiments, which was made so accurately, and by persons so skilful and exact, that it was thought not easy to obtain a more exact one; and the Committee in fact found it to agree with the standards at the Exchequer as near as it was possible. They furnish no means, to persons at a distance, of knowing what this standard is. This however is suppli[ed by the evidence of the Second pendulum, which according to the authority before quoted is, at London, 39.1682 English inches, and consequently the Second rod there is of 58.7523 of the same inches. When we shall have found then, by actual trial, the Second rod for 45. 0 by adding the difference of their computed length, to wit [655 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 287/10000 of an inch, or rather S/10 of a line (which in practice will endanger less error than an attempt at so minute a fraction as the ten thousandth parts of an inch) we shall have the Second rod of London, or a true measure of 58% English inches. Or to shorten the operation, without varying the result,]17 Let the Standard rod of 45. 0 be divided into 587~18 equal parts; . and let each of these parts be declared a line; 10 lines an inch; 12 inches a foot; S. feet a yard; S. feet 9. Inches an ell; 6. feet a fathom; 5~ yards a perch or pole; 40. poles or perches a furlong; 8. furlongs a mile; S. miles a league.

Superficial measures Our measures of surface are the Acre of 4. rood; and the Rood of 40. square poles; so established by a statute of SS.E.!. Let them remain the same. Measures of capacity. The measures of capacity in use among us are of the following names and proportions. the gill, 4. of which make a pint; 2. pints make a quart; 2. quarts a pottle; 2. pottIes a gallon; 2 gallons a peck, dry measure; 8. gallons make a measure, called a firkin in liquid substances, and a bushel dry; 2. firkins or bushels, makes a measure called a tundlet, or kilderkin liquid, and a strike, dry; 2. kilderkins or strikes make a measure called a barrel liquid, and a coom19 dry; this last term being antient and little used; 2. barrels or cooms make a measure called a hogshead liquid, or a quarter dry; each being the quarter of a ton; 6. hogshead and a third make a tierce, or third of a ton; 2. hogsheads make a pipe, butt, or puncheon; and 2 pipes make a ton. [656 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

But no one of these measures is of a determinate capacity. The report of the committee of 1757.8. shews that the gallon is of various content: and that being the Unit, all the others must vary with it. The gallon and bushel contain 224. and 1792. cubic inches, according to the standard wine gallon preserved at Guildhall; 2S1. and 1848. according to the statute of the 5th. Anne; 264.8 and 2118.4 according to the antient Rumford quart of 1228. examined by the committee; 265.5 and 2124. according to three standard bushels preserved in the Exchequer, to wit, one of H.7. without a rim; one dated 1091, supposed for 1591. or 1601. and one dated 1601. 266.25 and 21S0. according to the antient Rumford gallon of 1228. examined by the committee; 268.75 and 2150. according to the Winchester bushel, as declared by stat. lS.14.W.S. which has been the model for some of the grain states; 271. less 2. spoonfuls, and 2168. less 16. spoonfuls, according to a standard gallon of H. 7. and another dated 1601. marked E.E. both in the Exchequer; 271. and 2168. according to a standard gallon in the Exchequer, dated 1601, marked E. and called the corn gallon; 272. and 2176. according to three standard corn-gallons last mentioned, as measured in 1688. by an artist for the Commissioners of the Excise, generally used in the seaport towns, and by mercantile people, and thence introduced into some of the grain states; 277.18 and 2217.44 as established for the measure of coal by the statute 12. Anne; 278. and 2224. according to a standard bushel of H.7. with a copper rim, in the Exchequer; 278.4 and 2227.2 according to two standard pints of 1601. and 1602. in the Exchequer; 280. and 2240. according to the standard quart of 1601 in the exchequer; 282 and 2256. according to the standard gallon for beer and ale in the Treasury; There are moreover varieties on these varieties from the barrel to the ton inclusive: for if the Barrel be of Herrings, it must contain 28. gallons by the stat. IS. El.c.l1. [657 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

If of Wine, it must contain 31~ gallons by the stat. 2.H.6.c.ll and 1.R.3.c.15. If of Beer or ale, it must contain 34. gallons by the stat.1.W.& M.c.24. and the higher measures in proportion. In those of the U.S. which have not adopted the statutes of W. and M. and of Anne before cited, nor their substance, the wine gallon of 231. cubic inches rests on the authority of very long usage before the 5th. of Anne, the origin and foundation of which are unknown; the bushel is the Winchester bushel by the II.H. 7. undefined; and the barrel of ale 32. gallons, and of beer 36. gallons by the stat 23.H.8.c.4. The Secretary of state is not informed whether there have been any and what alterations of these measures by the laws of the particular states. It is proposed to retain this series of measures, but to fix the gallon to one determinate capacity as the unit of measure, both wet and dry; for convenience is in favor of abolishing the distinction even between wet and dry measures. The wine gallon, whether of 224. or 231. cubic inches, may be altogether disregarded, as concerning principally the mercantile, and the wealthy, the least numerous part of the society, and the most capable of reducing one measure to another by calculation. The gallon is little used among the mass of farmers, whose chief habits and interests are in the size of the com bushel. Of the standard measures before stated two are principally distinguished in authority and practice. The statute bushel of 2150. cubic inches, which gives a gallon of 268.75 cubic inches, and the standard gallon of 1601. called the Com gallon, of 271. or 272. cubic inches which has introduced'the mercantile bushel of 2170. inches. The former of these is most used in some of the grain states, the latter in others. The middle term of 270. cubic inches may be taken as a mutual compromise of convenience, and as offering this general advantage, that the bushel being of 2160. cubic inches is exactly a cubic foot and a quarter, and so facilitates the conversion of wet and dry measures into solid contents and tonnage, and simplifies the connection of measures and weights, as will be shewn hereafter. It may be added in favor of this as a medium measure that eight of the standard or statute measures before enumerated are below this term, and nine above it. The measures to be made for use being foursided, with rectangular sides and bottom, [658 J

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

The Pint will be 3. inches square and 31 I. deep; The Quart 3. I. square and 7i I. deep; The Pottle S. I. square and 15. I. deep, or 4i, 5, and 6. I. The Gallon 6. I. square and 7i I. deep, or 5, 6, and 9. I. The Peck 6, 9, and 10. I. The Half-bushel 12. I. square, and n I. deep; and the Bushel 12. I. square, and 15. I. deep, or 9, 15, and 16. I. Cylindrical measures have the advantage of superior strength: but square ones have the greater advantage of enabling every one, who has a rule in his pocket to verify their contents, by measuring them. Moreover till the circle can be squared, the cylinder cannot be cubed, nor it's contents exactly expressed in figures. Let the measures of capacity then for the U.S. be A gallon of 270. cubic inches; The gallon to contain two pottIes; The pottle 2. quarts; The quart 2. pints; The pint 4. gills; 2. gallons to make a peck; 8. gallons a bushel or firkin; 2. bushels or firkins a strike or kilderkin; 2. strikes or kilderkins a coom19 or barrel; 2. cooms or barrels a quarter or hogshead; A hogshead and a third one tierce; 2. hogsheads a pipe, butt, or puncheon; and 2. pipes a ton. And let all measures of capacity of dry subjects be stricken with a strait strike. Weights. There are two series of weights in use among us; the one called Avoirdupois, the other Troy. In the Avoirdupois series The Pound is divided into 16. ounces; The ounce into 16. drams; The dram into 4. quarters. In the Troy series, The Pound is divided into 12 ounces; The Ounce (according to the subdivision of the Apothecaries) into 8. drams; The Dram into 3. scruples; The Scruple into 20. grains. (659 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

According to the subdivision for gold and silver The Ounce is divided into 20 pennyweight; and the pennyweight into 24. grains. so that the pound Troy contains 5760. grains, of which 7000. are requisite to make the pound avoirdupois. Of course the weight of the pound Troy is to that of the pound Avoirdupois as 5760. to 7000. or as 144. to 175. It is remarkeable that this is exactly the proportion of the antient liquid gallon of Guildhall of 224. cubic inches to the corn gallon of 272. for 224. are to'" 272. as 144. to 175. It is further remarkeable still that this is also the exact proportion between the specific weight of any measure of wheat, and of the same measure of water. For the statute bushel is of 64. pounds of wheat. Now as 144. to 175. so are 64. Th. to 77.7. Th. But 77.7 Th. is known to be the weight of§ 2150.4 cubic inches of-pure water; which is exactly the content of the Winchester bushel as declared by the stat. 13. 14. W. 3. That statute determined the bushel to be a cylinder of 18~ inches diameter, and 8. inches depth. Such a cylinder, as nearly as it can be cubed, and expressed in figures, contains 2150.425 cubic inches: a result which reflects authority on the declaration of parliament and induces a favorable opinion of the care with which they investigated the contents of the antient bushel, and also a belief that there might exist evidence of it as that day unknown to the committees of 1758. and 1759. We find then in a continued proportion 64. to 77.7 as 224. to 272. and as 144. to 175. that is to say: the Specific weight of a measure of wheat, to that of the same measure of water, as the cubic contents of the wet gallon, to those of the dry; and as the weight of a pound Troy to that of a pound Avoirdupois. This seems to have been so combined as to render it indifferent whether a thing were dealt out by weight or measure. For the dry gallon of wheat, and the liquid one of wine, were of the same weight; and the Avoirdupois pound of wheat, and Troy pound of wine were of the same measure. Water and the vinous liquors which enter most into commerce, are so nearly of a weight, that the difference, in moderate quantities, would be neglected by both buyer and seller; some of the wines being a little heavier, and some a little lighter than water. Another remarkeable correspondence is that between weights .. Or more exactly 144 : 175 :: 224 : 272.2 § Or more exactly 62.5 : 1728 :: 77.7 : 2150.59

[660 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

and solid measures. For 1000. ounces avoirdupois of pure water, fill a cubic foot with mathematical exactness. What circumstances of the times, or purposes of barter or commerce, called for this combination of weights and measures with the subjects to be exchanged or purchased, are not now to be ascertained. But a triple set of exact proportionals representing weights, measures, and the things to be weighed and measured, and a relation so integral between weights and solid measures, must have been the result of design, and scientific calculation, and not a mere coincidence of hazard. It proves that the dry and wet measures the heavy and light weights must have been original parts of the system they compose: contrary to the opinion of the committee of 1757. 1758. who thought that the avoirdupois weight was not an antient weight of the kingdom, nor ever even a legal weight, but during a single year of the reign of H. 8. and therefore concluded, otherwise than will be here proposed, to suppress it altogether. Their opinion was founded chiefly on the silence of the laws as to this weight. But the harmony here developed in the system of weights and measures, of which the avoirdupois makes an essential member, corroborated by a general use, from very high antiquity, of that, or of a nearly similar weight under anothert name, seem stronger proofs that this is a legal weight, than the mere silence of the written laws is of the contrary. Be this as it may, it is in such general use with us, that, on the principle of popular convenience, it's higher denominations, at least, must be preserved. It is by the Avoirdupois pound and ounce that our citizens have been used to buy and sell. But the smaller subdivisions of drams and quarters, are not in use with them. On the other hand, they have been used to weigh their money and medecine with the pennyweights and grains, Troy weight, and are not in the habit of using the pounds and ounces of that series. It would be for their convenience then to suppress the pound and ounce Troy, and the dram and quarter avoirdupois; and to form into one series, the avoirdupois pound and ounce, and the Troy pennyweight and grain. The Avoirdupois ounce contains 18. pennyweight 5~ grains Troy weight. Divide it then into 18. pennyweight, and the pennyweight as heretofore into 24. grains, and the new pennyweight will contain between a third and a quarter of a grain more than the present Troy pennyweight; or more accurately, it will be to that as 875. to 864. a difference not to be noticed either in money or medicine below the denomination of an ounce. t The Merchants weight.

[ 661 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

But it will be necessary to refer these weights to a determinate mass of some substance, the specific gravity of which is invariable. Rain water is such a substance, and may be referred to every where and through all time. It has been found, by accurate experiments, that a cubic foot of rainwater weighs 1000. ounces avoirdupois, standard weights of the Exchequer. It is true that among these standard weights, the committee reports small variations. But this experiment must decide in favor of those particular weights, between which and an integral mass of water, so remarkeable a coincidence has been found. To render this standard more exact the water should be weighed always in the same temperature of air; as heat, by increasing it's volume, lessens it's specific gravity. The cellar of uniform temperature is best for this also. 20 Let it then be established that an ounce is of the weight of a cube of rainwater, of one tenth of a foot or rather that it is the thousandth part of the weight of a cubic foot of rain water weighed in the standard temperature; that the series of weights of the U.S. shall consist of pounds, ounces, pennyweights, and grains whereof 24. grains shall be one pennyweight; 18. pennyweight one ounce; 16. ounces one pound. Coins. Congress in 1786. established the Money unit at 375.64 Troy grains of pure silver. It is proposed to enlarge this by about the third of a grain in weight, or a mill in value; that is to say, to establish it at 376. (or more exactly 376.02985) instead of 375.64 grains,21 because it will be shewn that this, as the Unit of coin, will link in system with the Units of length, surface, capacity and weight, whenever it shall be thought proper to extend the decimal ratio through all these branches. It is to preserve the possibility of doing this that this very minute alteration is proposed. We have this proportion then. 875. to 864. as 376.02985 grains Troy to 371.30261 22 the expression of the Unit in the new grains. Let it be declared therefore that the Money unit, or Dollar of the U.S. shall contain 371.3 28 American grains of pure silver. If nothing more then is proposed than to render uniform and stable the system we already possess, this may be effected on the plan herein detailed; the sum of which is 1. that the present measures of length be retained and fixed by an invariable standard: 2. that the measures of surface remain as they are, and be invariable also as the measures of length to which they are to refer: 3. that [662 ]

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

the Unit of capacity, now so equivocal, be settled at a medium and convenient tenn, and defined by the same invariable measures of length: 4. that the more known tenns in the two kinds of weights be retained, and reduced to one series, and that they be referred to a definite mass of some substance, the specific gravity of which never changes: and 5. that the quantity of pure silver in the money unit be expressed in parts of the weight so defined. In the whole of this no change is proposed, except an insensible one in the Troy grain and pennyweight, and the very minute one in the Money unit. II. But if it be thought that, either now, or at any future time, the citizens of the U.S. may be induced to undertake a thorough reformation of their whole system of measures, weights and coins, reducing every branch to the same decimal ratio already established in their coins, and thus bringing the calculation of the principal affairs of life within the arithmetic of every man who can multiply and divide plain numbers, greater changes will be necessary. The Unit of measure is still that which must give law through the whole system: and from whatever unit we set out, the coincidences between the old and new ratios will be rare. All that can be done will be to chuse such an Unit as will produce the most of these. In this respect the Second rod has been found on trial to be far preferable to the Second pendulum. Measures of length. Let the Second rod then, as before described, be the Standard of measure; and let it be divided into five equal parts, each of which shall be called a Foot: for perhaps it may be better, generally to retain the name of the nearest present measure, where there is one tolerably near. It will be about one quarter of an inch shorter than the present foot. Let the foot be divided into 10. inches; The Inch into 10. lines; The line into 10. points; Let 10. feet made a decad; 10. decads a rood; 10. roods a furlong; 10. furlongs a mile. [663 J

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

Superficial measures. Superficial measures have been estimated, and so may continue to be, in squares of the measures of length, except in the case of lands, which have been estimated by squares called roods and acres. Let the Rood be equal to a square, every side of which is 100. feet. This will be 6.483 24 English feet less than the II English rood every way, and 1311. 25 square feet less in it's whole contents; that is to say, about one eighth, in which proportion also, 4 rood will be less than the present acre. Measures of capacity Let the Unit of capacity be the cubic foot, to be called a Bushel. lA, less than that before proposed to be adopted as a medium; Y10 less than the bushel made from 8. of the Guildhall gallons, and Y14 less than the bushel made from 8. Irish gallons of 217.6 cubic inches. Let the bushel be divided into 10. pottIes; Each pottle into 10. demi-pints; Each demi-pint into 10. metres, which will be of a cubic inch each. Let 10. bushels be a quarter, and 10. quarters a last or double-ton. The measures for use being foursided and the sides and bottoms rectangular, The bushel will be a foot cube; The pottle 5. inches square and 4. inches deep; The demi-pint 2. inches square and 2Jh inches deep; The Metre an inch cube.

It will contain 1620.23 26 cubic inches English; be about

Weights. Let the weight of a cubic inch of rain-water or the thousandth part of a cubic foot be called an ounce; and let the ounce be divided into 10 double scruples; the double scruple into 10. carats; the carat into 10. minims or demi-grains, the minim into 10. mites. Let 10. ounces make a pound; 10 pounds a stone; 10 stone a kental; 10 kental a hogshead. Coins. Let the Money-unit, or Dollar contain eleven twelfths of an ounce II The

English rood contains 10890 square feet

[664 J

=

104.355 f. square

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT

of pure silver. This will be 376 21 Troy grains (or more exactly 376.02985 28 Troy grains,) which will be about a third of a grain (or more exactly .38985 29 of a grain) more 30 than the present Unit. This with the twelfth of alloy, already established, will make the Dollar or Unit of the weight of an ounce, or of a cubic inch of rain water exactly. The series of Mills, Cents, Dimes, Dollars and Eagles to remain as already established. The Second rod, or the Second pendulum, expressed in the measures of other countries, will give the proportion between their measures and those of the U.S. Measures, weights, and coins thus referred to standards, unchangeable in their nature, (as is the length of a rod vibrating seconds, and the weight of a definite mass of rain water) will themselves be unchangeable. These standards too are such as to be accessible to all persons, in all times and places. The measures and weights derived from them fall in so nearly with some of those now in use, as to facilitate their introduction; and being arranged in decimal ratio, they are within the calculation of every one who possesses the first elements of arithmetic, and of easy comparison, both for foreigners and citizens, with the measures, weights, and coins of other countries. A gradual introduction would lessen the inconveniences which might attend too sudden a substitution, even of an easier, for a more difficult system. After a given term, for instance, it might begin in the Custom houses, where the merchants would become familiarised to it. After a further term, it might be introduced into all legal proceedings, and merchants, and traders in foreign commodities, might be required to use it in their dealings with one another. After a still further term, all other descriptions of people might recieve it into common use.-Too long a postponement on the other hand, would increase the difficulties of it's reception, with the increase of our population. 81

[665 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790

The measures, weights and coins of the Decimal system estimated in those of England now used in the U.S. 1. Measures of length. The Point Line Inch Foot Decad Rood Furlong Mile

Feet Equivalent in English measure .001 .Oll Inches .01 .1l7 .1 1.174 about t more than the English inch. 11.744736 } { .978728 Feet about~less than the English foot. 1. aboutl-s-less than the 10. feet rod of the 10. 9.787 carpenters. about 1"8" less than the side of an English 100. 97.872 square rood. about t more than the English furlong. lOOO. 978.728 about 1,f English mile: nearly the 9787.28 lOOOO. Scotch and Irish mile, and 1 the German.

2. Superficial measure. 32

The Rood.

Rood. 1.

square feet 9579.085

about ! less than the English Rood.

3. Measures of capacity.

The Metre Demipint Pottle Bushel Quarter Last

cub. Inches 1.6202 33 16.202 34

Bushels .001 .01 .1 1.

162.022 35 {

1620.229596620920160256 36 } .937632868414884352 cub. feet

lO.

9.376 37

100.

93.763 38

[666 ]

about -.}4 less than the English half pint. about i more than the English pottIe. abou~ 1- les~ than !he mbIdhdlel sIzed Enghsh us e. about! less than the English quarter. about t more than the English Last.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 MS (DLe: TJ Papers, 65: 11247· 57); entirely in TJ's hand; containing numerous deletions, corrections, and one note pasted over another (see note 10, below); TJ's symbols keying footnotes to text were changed to numbers at the time Fe was executed; contains 21 numbered pages and may be dated with precision as belonging to the period 12-30 June 1790. MS is a composite. It was originally a fair copy made by TJ from MS of Document v. In that state TJ sent a (missing) Pre of it to Rittenhouse on 12 June 1790, inappropriately calling it a rough draft: it was not even a tentative draft in the sense that its prototype was, for its lines extended not half-way across the page but full measure, and there were almost no corrections on it as it then stood. Three days later, after receiving Talleyrand's proposition, TJ cancelled the last page of MS ( that page is now in DLe: TJ Papers, 59: 10175, being page 21, and agrees precisely with the final form of corresponding page in its prototype, even to the diagonal cancellation mark (Document v, note 54). He then prepared the draft of a substitute page (see MS 1, below) and attached it to MS (f. 11257), sending a (missing) Pre of it to Rittenhouse on 15 June 1790. Immediately afterward he procured a copy of Newton's Principia and revised MS to include "alterations . . . rendered necessary by the bishop of Autun's plan. Those in the first four pages being numerous," as TJ explained to Rittenhouse on 17 June 1790, "I wrote those pages anew, so that you will be so good as to substitute the new for the old. I have only noted the other smaller alterations by the page and line" (Pre in DLe). These reo visions TJ made in the first instance on MS of Document v, thereby causing it to become in part a rough draft for the above MS. He then cancelled (and perhaps destroyed) p. 1-4 of MS as originally transcribed and substituted therefor the revision of which he had sent Rittenhouse a (missing) Pre. A day later he received the text of Sir John Riggs Miller's speech of 13 Apr. 1790 and this involved further revisions: these TJ described in his letter to Rittenhouse of 20 June 1790 and incorporated them in MS. Four days afterward he received Rittenhouse's initial criticisms and incorporated these and other alterations on the "first sheet" (that is, p.l-4 of MS).

He thereupon recopied those pages, in· cluding the troublesome note on p. 3 that he had quoted in his letter of 20 June 1790, and sent Rittenhouse a (missing) Pre of the "third edition of that sheet," making another substitu· tion in MS of the pages now designated as f. 11247-8v-the pages that were supplanted being no doubt destroyed in this instance also (TJ to Rittenhouse, 26 June 1790). Unhappily, his letter crossed in the post that from Rittenhouse of 25 June calling attention to the error in the note. On 30 June 1790 TJ acknowledged the error, deleted the second revision, and pasted the slip onto p. 3 containing the third and final revision of the note, of which he sent Rittenhouse a copy. Thus, except for the cancelled page at f. 10175, what remains of MS as originally transcribed from MS of Document v is that part covering f. 11249-56, pages 1·4 and 21 being substitutes for cancellations. This evolution of MS is proved by a variety of facts and particularly by N (DLe: TJ Papers, 59: 10176-7), a 2·page document in TJ's hand listing the alterations to be made on pages 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 16, 17, 19,20, and 21 of MS as it was originally, and including a draft of the text of the most extensive of these (i.e., those on p. 3 and 4 of the cancelled pages); undated, but compiled 18-20 June 1790. In employing N to make these revisions on p.I-4 of MS, TJ began copying on the substitute "first sheet" with the paragraph at the bottom of p. 4 in order to make its text conjugate with that beginning at the top of p. 5. Mterward, he began transcribing the revision at p. 1 and, overestimating the space required, so crowded his lines as to leave a blank space in the middle of p. 4. This misled Rittenhouse and incidentally, through his comment on the blank space, proved that it was a Pre of the ''first sheet" as finally revised that TJ sent him on 26 June (see note 15 below, and Rittenhouse to TJ, 2 July 1790). MS contains the text of report as submitted to the house of representatives on 4 July 1790, except for such additions and corrections as are indicated in the notes below. For later revisions, see Documents vm and IX. Dft (DLe: TJ Papers, 59: 1016374; 233: 41948-51, 41592-4; and 59: 10149-62); the folios here cited are the MS, Dft, and Tr, respectively and in the order given, for the second state of the report as described in

[668 J

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT Document v, note. Most of the revisions from 12-30 June for MS as printed above were placed by TJ on MS of Document v, though some are to be found also on Dft and Tr, making all in some degree the draft prototype for MS above. FC (DNA: RG 59, Record of Reports of Thomas Jefferson, p. 1863); agrees with MS as printed above except as indicated in notes 21, 22, 23, 26, 28-9, 31, 32-47, and 49, which incorporate the alterations made necessary by the discovery of the error pointed out in Document VIII. On the printed texts of the report, see Editorial Note. The following documents were also employed in the preparation of the final state of MS: MS 1: DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 10177, a 2-page MS in TJ's hand; undated but written on 15 June 1790; containing on verso the draft of the substitute text for p. 21 of MS and, on recto, TJ's "Notes from the Bishop of Autun's propositions sur les paids et mesures." These notes were all taken from p. 13-6 of text, the essential part of which reads: "The second pendulum of 45. 0 has been proposed as a middle term between the Equator and pole. This pendulum should be the aunc. 2. aunes should be a toise and the toise should be 6 feet. 3 inches cube (or 27 cubic inches) of water distilled once in the temperature of 14.0 4 Reaumur's thermometer should be a pound. This would be a little heavier than the present pound. The length of the Second pendulum for 45. 0 has been calculated at 36 pouces- 8.52 lignes. There may be an error in this of -lrr of a line. As the experiment should be made near the level of the sea, some place near Bordeaux would be proper." Below this TJ drew a line and added: "Sr. I. Newton makes the pendulum of Paris (48. 0 _ 50.') to be . . . 39.16049 inches." MS 2: DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41977, consisting of a single leaf on the recto of which is the following unfinished letter written ca. 20 May-12 June 1790 (possibly intended for Madison), reading: "Sir, Reflecting to-day on a part of the report I had communicated to Dr. [William Samuel] Johnson, an inaccuracy occurred to me which had before escaped me. I called on him therefore for it"; on this same leaf TJ later recorded the first drafts of the revisions for MS indicated below in notes 1, 5, 6, 10, and 16. These revisions were made between 20 and 30 June 1790. On verso of this leaf T J

made the calculations prompted by Rittenhouse's letter of 25 June 1790 and stated the equation as follows: "As his 45. 0 39.11546 to my 45. 0 39.14912 :: so is his 48.5 39.12683 : to what should be my 48-50. And again as his 45. 0 39.11546 : to my 45. 0 39.14912 :: so is his 51-31 39.13468 : to what should be my 5131." On solving these equations on that leaf, TJ quickly found that the calculations confirmed his earlier estimates. On an adjoining leaf (f. 41976) he stated the reasons for the discrepancy between his and Rittenhouse's results: "Ritt. makes Eng. I. pendulum 51. ·_31' 39.13468 of Lat. 48-50 39.12683 Do. 45. 39.11546. But in this he cupposes the English foot = 11 po.-3.11 1. = 135.11. If I've supposed it = 11 po.-3 1. his numbers must be enlarged in the proportion of 135.11 : 135." TJ acknowledged his error in division in calculating the latitude of Paris, but declined to accept Rittenhouse's estimate for the English equivalent of the French foot: Rittenhouse depended in this on Maskelyne and TJ depended on Newton (see Rittenhouse to TJ, 25 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 30 June 1790). MS 3: DLC: TJ Papers, 233: 41973, consisting of a single leaf in TJ's hand containing notes taken from Newton's Principia. It contains the equivalent in French measure of the second pendulum for degrees of latitude in multiples of five from o· to 90,· except for latitudes 40· to 50' where the equivalent for each degree is given; this table furnished the matter from which the data given in note 11, below, were drawn. Opposite this TJ wrote: "Sr. I. Newton supposes an iron rod 3. feet long is from i to ! of a line shorter in winter than summer in England, in the common situations of pendulums. Were it exposed to the immediate action of the sun, the difference would be greater. But in their common situation they never are in a degree of heat equal to that of the human bodY.-ll pouces-3 lignes equal to the English foot. . • • The weight of a given mass of matter in any two latitudes is reciprocally as the radii of the earth at the places respectively. The weight of a cubic foot of water at the pole is to the same at the equator as 230 : 229. The earth being a spheroid, Sr. I. Newton, calculating it's radii in the different lati-

[669 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 tudes, deduces thence the above lengths of pendulums for each in French feet and lines. From this datum that at Paris in Lat. 48.°-50' the second pendulum is 5. pieds. 8t lignes." MS 4: DLC: TJ Papers, 255: 41974, consisting of a single leaf in TJ's hand, on verso of which is the draft for the paragraph in MS indicated by note 4, below; on recto TJ listed the data for the length of the second pendulum for London, Paris, and north latitude 45.° as derived by him from the calculations of the Bishop of Autun, Miller, and Newton. His conversion of the Bishop of Autun's figure for the length at the latitude of Paris was derived from the following equation: "504 : 257 :: 72 : 56.71428 pouces"; the erroneous result produced by faulty division is set down on MS 4 at 59.1925 and following this, in brackets, TJ inserted the corrected figure of 59.1619. At f. 41975 there is also a note in TJ's hand reading as follows: "Mr. Huygen's length of the inches Pendulum, by Sr. John [quo Jonas] Moore's reduction, now known erroneous 59.2 Mr. Emerson's by which he computes his table of the length of the pendulum in different latitudes 59.1[ ... ] Dr. Desagulier's length of the London Pendulum, by which Mr. Ferguson computes his table 59.128 Mr. Graham's length, found by a nice experiment in 1725, made with a standard English foot 59.126 Mr. Whitehurst's deduced from the interval between two pendulums, according to himself is 59.1196 Do. corrected by the Reviewers, who made a deduction for the small rod of his pendulum 59.1189" Both of these memoranda are undated but were drawn up ca. 18-20 June 1790, except of course for the correction which was entered ca. 29-50 June. MS 5: DLC: TJ Papers, 255: 41591, being a MS entirely in TJ's hand concerning the money unit and evidently drawn up at the time he was preparing the second state of the report (that is, before 20 May 1790), but with later additions. This MS reads: "Congress, in Oct. 1786 declared that the mint price of pure gold should be 209.77 Dollars, and of 11 oz. pure

silver should be 15.777 Dollars. This fixes the relative value of silver and gold to be as 15.777 : 209.77 :: 1 : 15.226 in the U.S. According to this proportion the silver dollar containing 575.59555 grains of pure silver, the golden dollar must contain 24.6549 grains of pure gold. (To find the relative value of gold and silver in England, and the par of exchange between their money and ours, we have these data. 1.) In England at the mint 11 oz. 2 dwt. of fine silver are cut into 62. shillings. Then the 11 oz.2 shilling of silver must contain - - 62 85.9554858 grains of fine silver: and 11 oz. fine gold are cut into 44i guineas containing 954i shillings. Then 5280 the shilling of gold must contain - 954.5 5.65 grs. of pure gold. Consequently the value of silver there is to that of gold as 5.65 : 85.9554858 :: 1 : 15.20982. The silver dollar of the U.S. con575.59555 tains 4.56854 shillings 85.9554858 sterl. or 4s. 4d. 1.68 grs. and the pound sterl. contains 4.57859 dollars, which is consequently the par in silver. The golden dollar of the U.S. contains 24.6549 = 4.5657 golden shill. sterl. 5.65 or 4s. 4d. 1.45 grs. The par of exchange then in gold is 246.549 guineas for 118.65 eagles or £21-16-4 for 100 Dollars both counted in gold. In a book of respectable authority (the Encyclopedie Methodique) wherein the different monies are rated in As of Holland, a weight whereof 10240 make a pound poid de Marc we are informed that the pound sterl. of account contains 151.11 As of Holld. pure gold and 2295.21 do. of pure silver. Consequently the shilling sterl. of account contains 7.555 As of Holld. of pure gold and 114.7605 do. of pure silver. The livre of account contains 6.51 do of pure gold and 94.97 of pure silver. Then as As in 11 silver 114.7605 : As in 1ft 94.97 : : Troy grains silver in 11 85.9554858 : Troy grs. silver in 1ft 71.11587. And as As in 11 gold 7.555 : As in 1ft gold 6.51 : : Troy grs. gold in 1/ 5.65 : Troy grs. pure gold in 1ft 4.8681. The silver was to gold as 4.8681 : 71.11587 :: 1 : 14.608 before the edict of Nov. 1. 1785. That edict reduced the quantity of pure gold

= =

[670 ]

=

VII. FINAL STATE OF THE REPORT in the Louis of 24.ft in the proportion of 242r"r: 227l:: 242.54 : 227.42857i. Then as 242.54: 227.42857i :: 4.8681 : 4.56469 Troy grains of pure gold in a livre at this day. Then silver is now to gold as 4.56469 : 71.11587 :: 1 : 15.5795. The Silver dollar of the U.S. . 375.39555 contams 5.2786 livres or 71.11587 5ft 5s 6.864 d. when at par: and the 24.6549 golden dollar contains 4.56469 5.4012 golden livres the par of exchange in gold. To find the number of As of Holland of pure silver in the Doll. of the U.S. we have these two proofs As grs. silver in 1/ 85.9354838 : grs. silver in 1 D. 375.39555 :: As in 1/ 114.7605 : As in 1 D.501.31 and again as grs. silver in 1ft 71.11587 : 375.39555 :: As in 1ft 94.97 : 501.31." Later TJ added the following note to this MS: "All the preceding calculations are made on the money unit reformed to the standard of 38. 0 lat. viz. 375.39555 grs. Troy of pure silver. They must be remodelled to that of 45. 0 viz. 376. 02985 English Troy grs. = 371.30261 American Troy grs. = If of the American decimal ounce.-Observe that Sr. I. Newton found

=

31." This tends to confirm the conjectural date of MS 5 as belonging to the report at the second state, with later additions. 1 In MS 2 TJ made two drafts for this revision, one of which read: ''There exists not in nature as far as has been hitherto observed a single thing or species of thing(B) access able to man of one constant and uniform dimension." Revised version is on Dft (f.l0163). This alteration was made because of Rittenhouse's criticism (Rittenhouse to TJ, 21 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 26 June 1790). 2 This sentence also revised in Dft (f.10163) in consequence of Rittenhouse's criticism (same). S This paragraph inserted in Dft (f.l0163v) by TJ after receiving the text of the Bishop of Autun's proposition, because it had "been thought worth mention" (TJ to Rittenhouse, 15 June 1790). See note on MS 1, above. 4 This paragraph (the rough draft of which is in MS 4) was inserted by TJ in Dft (f.10163v) and at this point, both in Dft and in MS, the passage originally read: " . . . a power which shall exert," !ltc., and then was altered in both places to read as above. See TJ to Rittenhouse, 12 June 1790; see

dwt. the Piaster of Spain or Seville peice of 8. to contain the Mexico peice of 8. the Pillar peice of 8. Averaging

=

So that 17 dwt. 91 grs. 417.25 grs. standard metal may be considered as the fair worth of the Spanish dollar. 120 : 111 :: 417.25 : 385.95625 grs. pure silver in Sp. dol." A rough draft of the substantive part of this MS (except for the later additions, which were probably added ca. Jan. 1791, is to be found in the right column of Dft (f. 41591v). From that place TJ transferred a brief extract to p. 21 of MS before cancelling it, as indicated in note 48 below. Some of his calculations for MS 5 are to be found in DLC: TJ Papers, 55:9338-9, on verso of first of which is the following: ''Th: Jefferson's compliments to Mr. [John] Brown and begs the favor of him to call on him as he goes to Congress this morning. Monday May

grs. mit. standard silver 17 - 10 - 2 17 - 8 - 14 17 - 9

52 - 3 19 - 9

- 11 - 5

also note 15, below. 5 The rough draft of this footnote is in MS 2; there TJ first wrote at this point and then deleted: "In the case of the Pendulum Mr. Wh[itehurst] supposes a bob of 2 I. diameter necessary." 6 In MS 2 TJ first wrote at this point and then deleted: "proposed by Mr. Wh[itehurst]." 7 This sentence is not in MS 2, but was inserted in Dft after slip was pasted on left column of p. 3 and text runs on to right column. S This paragraph inserted at bottom of p. 2 of Dft (f.l0163v) and continues on to the slip pasted on the left column of p. 3; the footnote is also on this slip. The rough draft for this insertion is in MS 2, wherein TJ first wrote and then deleted: "Could this

(671 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 diameter be infinitely small the center of oscillation would be exactly at (one) two thirds of the whole length (of the rod) measured from the (lower extremity); and the smaller the rod the less will that center be removed from that point: giving it just so much diameter as may render it sufficiently inflexible (as suppose ! of an inch) the center will not be displaced (the SOO,OOth part) but 459,816th. part of the whole length. This being scarcely an object of calculation, much less of the senses, we may safely consider the center of oscillation as residing at one third of the length of the rod." TJ made several alterations in this, then deleted all after the fir~t sentence in MS 1 and began over. ThIS paragraph was inserted in MS to meet Rittenhouse's criticism (see Rittenhouse to TJ, 21 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 26 June 1790). 9 This is the text of the footnote as sent to Rittenhouse on 30 June 1790 (its rough draft is in MS 2). It is pasted over the following at p. 3 of MS which is the state of the text as set 'forth in TJ's letter to Rittenhouse of 20 June 1790: "The length of the pendulum has been differen~y estimated by different persons. Knowmg no reason to respect any of them, more than Sr. Isaac Newton, for skill, care, or candour, his estimate of 39.149 I. had been adopted in this report, before the propositions of the Bishop of Autun, or of Sir John Riggs Miller were known here. The former gentleman quotes Mairan's ratio for the length of the pendulum in the latitude of Paris, to wit as 504 : 257 : : 257:72 French inches to a 4th proportional, which will be 36.71428 French inches, equal to 39.1923 English, the length of the pendulum desired. The difference between the pendulum for 48°-50' (the latitude of Paris) and 45.° is .0112 I. so that the pendulum for 45.° would be estimated according to the Bishop of Autun at (39.1923_.0112 = ) 39.1811 inches. Sr. John Riggs Mill~r proposes 39.126 I. being Graham s determination for the latitude of London. The difference between the pendulum for 51. -31' (the lat. of London) and 45.° is.019 I. so that the pendulum for 45. 0 should be estimated according to Sr. John Riggs Miller at (39.126.019) = 39.107 I. Now dividing our respect equally between these two results, by taking their mean to wit, 39.181 39.107 39.144 we find 2

+

=

ourselves almost exactly with Sr. Isaac Newton, whose estimate 39.149 had been before adopted." The rough draft of this text is on two slips pasted over left column of p. 4 of Dft (f.10164v); after Rittenhouse pointed out the error, TJ went back to this draft and corrected the figures. 10 Preceding three paragraphs are written in the right column of p. 3 after the slip was pasted over the left column. 11 Draft of this paragraph is on one of the two slips pasted in left column of p. 4 of Dft (f. 10164v), and of course was not entered there until T J prepared the "third edition" of p. 1-4 of MS ca. 24-26 June 1790 (see note 2 above; also TJ to Rittenhouse, 26 June 1790). 12 Rittenhouse pointed out TJ's error in calculating the extremes caused by expansion (Rittenhouse to TJ, 21 June 1790; TJ to Rittenhouse, 26 June 1790). The correction was made by overwriting on two states of Dft (f. 10164v and f. 10151). 13 Draft of this paragraph is inserted at top of page 5 of Dft (f. 10165). At this point in MS as it stood when TJ made the "third edition" of p.I-4, there occurs the blank space of about two inches between this and the succeeding paragraph, as described above. See Rittenhouse to TJ, 2 July 1790. 14 Draft of this paragraph is in MS 2 and its text is inserted at top of page 5 of Dft (f. 10165). 15 See description of MS 3, above. 16 Draft of this footnote is inserted on p. 4 of Dft (f. 10164v). 11 At top of p. 9 of Dft (f. 10167), T J first wrote draft of substitute text for the passage in brackets (supplied). That draft read: "-ed the evidence of the Second pendulum before mentioned, from which it appears that the English inch is a measure whereof 39.1682 are equal to the pendulum vibrating seconds in the lat. of London and consequently the Second rod for that latitude is 58.7523 I. {which illnh.1r0fit'llwhole length longer than the standard rod for 4S.0} that of 45.° being as before stated only 58.72368 I. Let it be found by actual trial and add to it 11J of a line. This will give us a measure of 58! English inches, or to shorten the operation." TJ copied this form of the substitute text in his letter to Rittenhouse of 20 June 1790, then deleted it there (and also in Dft) and wrote the text in Dft as it appears above, which is

(672 ]

V I I. FIN A L. S TAT E 0 F THE REP 0 R T substantially the same as that which TJ then interlined in the letter to Rittenhouse. 18 The original figures in this sen· tence are so overwritten in Dft (f. 10167) and in MS as to be indecipherable. Yet it is clear that, as the text stood when TJ sent it to Rittenhouse on 12 June 1790, the passage read: " . . . 38° then be divided into 587 equal parts." On 15 June, on recalculating the length of the pendulum for 45° TJ arrived at 58n, which must have been the figure transferred to MS at that time, as it certainly was when TJ wrote Rittenhouse on 20 June 1790. On 28 June 1790 TJ received Professor Kemp's letter of that date suggesting that this was an error and that the figure should be 5871. But the fraction remained as above. 19 The spelling of this word in early stages of text (e.g., Dft) is coomb; this is also the spelling in FC, so that TJ evidently returned to it as being preferable. 20 The draft for these two sentences is written in right column of p. 17 of Dft (f. 10171) and is also interlined 32

26 This figure altered in MS and in Dft (f. 10173) from "16171." FC reads: "1620.05506862." 27 This figure altered in MS and in Dft (f. 10173v) from "375.4." 28 This figure altered in MS and in Dft (t 10173v) from "375.39555." FC reads: "375.989343." 29 This figure changed in MS and in Dft (f.l0173v) from ".24445." FC reads: ".349343." 80 In MS TJ originally wrote "a quarter of a grain ... more," and then altered the passage in MS and in Dft (f.l0173v) to read as above. 81 At this point FC reads: "Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State." This is followed by: "Appendix. Containing Illustrations and Developments of some passages of the preceding Report." This appendix contains the footnotes as given by TJ, but numbered from 1 to 8 instead of being keyed to the text by symbols as above. The 8th footnote is the comparative view of the proposed decimal system and of the English system, as taken from final page of Dft and MS, but varying from that as indicated in the following notes.

FC reads instead:

The Hundredth Tenth Rood Double Acre Square Furlong

"Superficial Measures .01 95.79 Square feet English .1 957.9 1. 9579.085 10. 2.199, or say 2.2 Acres English 100. 22."

in MS. 21 In MS TJ originally wrote: "It is proposed to make this less by about the quarter of a grain; or fifteenth of a cent; that is to say, to establish it at 375.4 instead of 375.64 grains"-that is, the form at which it stood in Dft (f. 10158v). He then changed this in MS to read as above, entering the alteration also in Dft (f. 10171v). FC reads: "(or more exactly 375.989343). 22 The proportion originally read in MS, as in final state of Dft (f. 10159): "875. to 864. as 375.4 grains Troy to 370.68"; and was then altered by overwriting to read as above. FC reads: "875 to 864 as 375.989343 grains Troy to 371.2626277." 28 Altered in MS and in Dft (f. 10171v) by overwriting from "370.68." FC reads: "371.262." 24 This figure altered in MS and in Dft (f. 10172v) by overwriting from "4.355." 2~ This figure altered in MS and in Dft (f. 10172v) from "1321."

FC reads: "1.62." FC reads: "16.2." 35 FC reads: "162.005." 86 FC reads: "{1620. 05506862 .............. '}" .937531868414884352 Cub.ft. 37 FC reads: "9.375." 38 FC reads: "93.753." 39 FC reads: ".4101." 40 FC reads: "4.101." 41 FC reads: "41.017." 42 FC reads: ".937531868414884352." 43 FC reads: "{410.170192431}" .85452 oz. 44 FC reads: "{9.375 } .585957417759 to. .712101 to.," lItc. 45 FC reads: "{93.753 oz. } 5.8595 to. 7.121," lItc. 46 FC reads: "{937.531 oz. } 58.5957 to. 71.21," lite. 38

84

[673 ]

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1790 ~7 FC reads: "{9375.318 oz. } 585.95741b. 712.101." ~8 On Dft (f.41594) TJ wrote the following opposite the unit of money: "The English standard of silver being 11 oz. 2 dwt. cut into 62/ the English shilling contains 93.6774193 lItc grains 375.39555 of pure silver = 4.0073 93.6774193 so that our Unit or Dollar will be almost exactly equal to 4/ sterling and our Eagle to 40/ sterling, the half eagle to the Pound sterling." He copied

this on the cancelled page of Dft (f.l0174v) and of course it appeared on its PrC (f.41595). Both were then deleted, and the note is not on the revised substitute page 21 of MS as it was when TJ sent it to Rittenhouse on 15 June 1790 (f.l0175). Both versions of the note were drawn from MS 5. See note above. *9 FC reads: "375.98934306 pure silver 34.18084937 alloy 410.17019243"

VIII. Thomas Jefferson to the President of the Senate Philadelphia. Jan. 17. 1791. I have the honor to enclose you a Postscript to the Report on Measures, Weights and coins now before your house. This has been rendered necessary by a small arithmetical error detected in the estimate of the cubic foot proposed in that report. The head of Superficial measures is also therein somewhat more developed. Nothing is known, since the last session of Congress of any further proceedings in Europe on this subject. I have the honour to be with sentiments of the most profound respect Sir Your most TH: JEFFERSON obedient & most humble servt,

SIR

PrC (DLC); at foot of text: ''The honourable the President of the Senate." In DLC: TJ Papers, 59: 10234 there is also a PrC of a letter to "The Honble

the Speaker of the house of Representatives" that varies in phraseology but is identical in substance with the foregoing.

IX. Postscript to the Report on Weights and Measures Postscript. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the measures, Weights, and Coins, proposed in the preceding report, will be derived altogether from mechanical operations; viz: A rod, vibrating seconds, divided into five equal parts, one of these subdivided, and multiplied, decimally, for every measure of length, surface and capacity, and these last filled with water, to determine the weights and coins. The Arithmetical estimates in the report were intended only to give an idea of what the new measures, weights, and coins would be nearly, when compared with the old. The length of the standard or second rod therefore was assumed, from that of the pendulum; [674 ]

IX. POSTSCRIPT TO THE REPORT

and as there have been small differences in the estimates of the pendulum by different persons, that of Sir Isaac Newton was taken, the highest authority the world has yet known. But if even he has erred, the measures, weights, and coins proposed will not be an Atom the more or less. In cubing the new foot, which was estimated at .978728 of an English foot, or 11.744736 English inches, an arithmetical error of an unit happened in the fourth column of decimals, and was repeated in another line in the sixth column, so as to make the result one ten thousandth, and one millionth of a foot too much. The thousandth part of this error (about one ten millionth of a foot) consequently fell on the metre of measure, the ounce weight, and the unit of money. In the last it made a difference of about the twenty fifth part of a grain Troy in weight, or the ninety third of a cent in value. As it happened, this error was on the favorable side, so that the detection of it approximates our estimate of the new unit exactly that much nearer to the old, and reduces the difference between them to 34 instead of 38 hundredths of a grain Troy; that is to say, the money unit, instead of 375.64 Troy grains of pure silver, as established heretofore, will now be 375.98934306 grains, as far as our knowledge of the length of the second pendulum enables us to judge: and the current of authorities since Sir Isaac Newton's time gives reason to believe that his estimate is more probably above than below the truth: consequently future corrections of it will bring the estimate of the new unit still nearer to the old. The numbers in which the arithmetical error before mentioned shewed itself in the table, at the end of the report, have been rectified, and the table reprinted. The head of superficial measures in the last part of the report, is thought to be not sufficiently developed. It is proposed that the rood of land, being 100 feet square (and nearly a quarter of the present Acre) shall be the unit of land measure. This will naturally be divided into tenths, and hundredths, the latter of which will be a square decad. Its multiples will also, of course, be tens, which may be called double Acres, and hundreds which will be equal to a square furlong each. The surveyor's chain should be composed of 100 links of one foot each. THOMAS JEFFERSON, Secretary of State January 10, 1791. FC (DNA: RG 59, SDR). Printed text (DLC: TJ Papers, 65: 11262-5); consisting only of p. 47-[53] of the Report (N.Y., Childs &: Swaine, 1791; Evans No. 23910) and, in addition to the postscript, containing the TABLE RE-

PRINTED. PrC of Tr (DLC: TJ Papers, 65: 11258-60); in the hand of George Taylor, except for date at end in TJ's hand, without signature: "Jan. 10. 1791."

[675 J

Preliminary indexes will be issued periodically for groups of volumes. Indexes covering Vols. 1-6 and 7-12 have been published. A comprehensive index of persons, places, subjects, etc., arranged in a single consolidated sequence, will be issued at the conclusion of the series.

THE PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON is composed in Monticello, a type specially designed by the Mergenthaler Linotype Company for this series. Monticello is based on a type design originally developed by Binny &: Ronaldson, the first successful typefounding company in America. It is considered historically appropriate here because it was used extensively in American printing during the last thirty years of Jefferson's life, 1796 to 1826; and because Jefferson himself expressed cordial approval of Binny &: Ronaldson types. ~

DESIGNED

BY

P.

J.

CONKWRIGHT